


Words Fail

by Raine_Wynd



Series: Author's Favorites [26]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Assumptions, Cussing, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, Explicit Sex, F/F, Falling In Love, Family Feels, Foul Language, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Threesome - F/M/M, post-age of ultron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-17 18:48:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14195397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: Steve needs a distraction to keep him from trying to find Bucky, who doesn't want to be found - but what he finds with Clint and Laura is more than just a simple distraction.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My head canon, because I needed to calculate distance: The Barton Homestead is in Altoona, Pennsylvania; the Training Facility is in Montebello, New York.
> 
> Also, this is what happens when I rediscover my love for Toni Braxton.

_A Thursday in June 2014_

Clint heard the distinctive rumble of a motorcycle as it eased down the dirt lane leading up to the farmhouse. Frowning at the sound, he looked at Laura. “Expecting anyone?”

“No,” Laura said as she turned away from the crockpot of stew she was making for dinner. “Do you need me to round up the kids?”

“Hold that thought.” Clint grabbed his bow and quiver before stepping outside to check who was coming. Adrenaline surged through him as he wondered who it might be, then relief flooded through him. He would recognize that American flag-painted helmet, brown leather motorcycle jacket, and classic Harley anywhere.

Slipping his bow to his back, Clint met the rider as he parked in front of the house. “You could’ve called, Steve, warned a guy.”

Steve Rogers slipped off the helmet — a concession he had made once he had learned of New York’s helmet law — and set it on the ground next to the bike as he dismounted. “Yeah, well, didn’t know I was headed this way until I got here.” A backpack rested on his back. Clint smiled as he recognized the backpack as the waxed olive-green canvas one he had given Steve for Christmas. The pack had straps so Steve could attach his shield to it, and had enough interior room for several days’ worth of clothes. Steve had opted to leave his shield at home.

Clint remembered the way Steve had looked after the Battle of Manhattan, as if his strength and endurance had been tested, and he looked that way now. Not for the first time, Clint wondered if he had made the right choice in walking away from the Avengers. The new team needed training, but Clint could not look at Wanda without recalling how her brother had saved his life. He also was not entirely sure what to think about Vision or Sam Wilson. Focusing his efforts on his newborn son and the rest of his family had seemed like the better part of valor.

“You’re a long way from the new Avengers base,” Clint noted. The new Avengers base was in a small town an hour and a half north of New York City while still conceding to the New York City mayor’s request to put the Avengers’ headquarters out of Manhattan. Clint’s homestead was in Altoona, Pennsylvania; it would have taken Steve four to five hours to make the drive, not counting stops for gas. “Anything I can do for you?”

Steve took a deep breath and let it out. “Can I get a hug?”

Clint blinked at the request before stepping close and giving Steve a solid hug. Steve shuddered before he returned it, mindful of the bow and quiver.

“You okay?” Clint asked, concerned. He had given Steve hugs before, figuring the super soldier had to be touch starved, since the number of people he could trust to do so were limited. It also meant Clint could hold the other man, and Clint had never been above subterfuge to get what he wanted. “Anything I can help with?”

“No, and maybe,” Steve admitted, and stepped out of the embrace. “All of our leads are dead ends, or Bucky’s beaten us to that location. Sam thinks I should give up on trying to find Bucky, focus my efforts on training the new team, but…” He looked at Clint and let out a breath. “Tony forwarded me a message to me today, something JARVIS recorded the day before Ultron hit. It was a message that had been routed through the main switchboard; JARVIS had flagged it for me to look at after its origin had been verified.”

Clint waited for the bad punch line he sensed was coming. When Steve did not immediately speak, he said, “Let me guess. It was Bucky, calling you from a burner phone from somewhere vague, telling you to lay off the searching.”

Steve offered him a meager attempt at a smile. “Yeah. I stopped because I was getting tired, and you, Natasha, and Sam all suggested I let it rest, but it still feels like I’m giving up.”

Natasha had filled Clint in about what had happened to Bucky Barnes; hearing the other parts of the story from Sam and Steve had solidified the impression of a man who had lived through one of the most horrific things Clint could imagine happening to anyone. Reconciling the notion of Steve’s best friend Bucky with the legend of the Winter Soldier had come a little easier for Clint. Brainwashing courtesy of Loki’s spear had made Clint more sympathetic to Bucky. “Or you could see it as giving Bucky the space to come to you. Might be he’s afraid if he comes to you, whatever’s left of HYDRA will force him to finish his mission.”

Steve grimaced at that statement. “You think that’s a possibility?” He picked up his helmet and dusted off the dirt.

Clint shrugged. “He’s been brainwashed. No telling what they programmed him to do, and given he already tried to kill you once under their command, I wonder what might set him off again. God knows I sometimes wonder if I’d be Loki’s puppet again if he ever showed up.” He paused. “Natasha took me to someone like Wanda so I’d know Loki left nothing behind and so I’d have defenses in case I ever ran into the same situation, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering anyway.” He studied Steve a moment, seeing the other man’s conviction in his best friend’s ability to overcome decades of HYDRA programming war with the evidence he had. “While I understand your faith in Bucky, this is not a black and white situation.”

Steve sighed. “Yeah, I’m seeing that. Guess I needed to hear it from you.”

“Because I’ve been brainwashed?” Clint asked dryly.

“Because you won’t start off with all the reasons I shouldn’t go find him,” Steve countered. “Or how I’m being ridiculous and wasteful. I have more money and time than I know to do with and if I want to spend it chasing after a ghost, why should anyone else care?”

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t want to see you obsessing, even if you cleared out a few HYDRA bases along the way,” Clint offered. “Look at what it did to Tony.”

Steve blinked as he considered his actions from that perspective. “Hadn’t thought about it that way.”

Clint chuckled. “Yeah, well, sometimes it takes another perspective to see it. Come on in; we were about to have dinner. Boots off once we’re inside, please.” He led the way into the house, where Laura waited anxiously.

“You remember my wife, Laura,” Clint said. “Steve was in the neighborhood,” he told Laura.

“I see,” Laura said, smiling. “The new training facility not to your liking tonight?”

“Got a craving for something other than cafeteria food,” Steve said as Cooper and Lila ran up to him. “Figured you could help.”

Laura laughed as Cooper and Lila demanded Steve’s attention. “Steve! Steve!” Cooper and Lila exclaimed.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Cooper asked.

“If your mom is okay with having me,” Steve said, looking to Laura.

“Hope you like lamb stew,” Laura said, her smile warm and welcoming.

“Love it,” Steve assured her.

“Lila, set the table; Cooper, get the plates for her and set another place for Steve,” Laura directed.

It was not long before they were all seated for dinner. As they ate, Laura asked, “So what really brings you to us, Steve?”

“Natasha caught me trying to kill another set of punching bags and suggested I get out before I scared someone. Told me not to come back until Saturday and made me promise I wouldn’t go looking for Bucky. Started driving to clear my head and before I knew it, I was here,” Steve said. Wryly, he added, “Was trying to avoid driving back to DC. Or the City.”

Clint nodded. “If I was Bucky, I’d be nowhere anywhere I once was. Too many people would expect me there, not all of them friendly.” He studied the other man, seeing resignation, exhaustion, and worry. Having one’s best friend not anywhere near safety and have new responsibilities added to the load would be enough to stress out most people. From earlier conversations, Clint knew Steve found talking to therapists difficult; he preferred to speak to friends and find relief that way.

Aware his children were listening, Clint changed the subject. “Have you seen any of the recent Pixar movies?”

Steve shot him a grateful look. “The artistry of some of them makes me want to draw more.”

“You draw?” Lila asked.

“Yes, I do,” Steve said. “Do you want me to draw you?”

“Only if Mommy and Daddy say it’s okay.”

Steve chuckled and looked at Laura and Clint. “Any objections?”

“Not from me,” Clint said. “I’ve seen your work. Laura?”

“After dinner,” Laura said firmly. “Though I have to ask – what were you doing with your art before you enlisted?”

“Advertisements for the pharmacy I used, trading the ads for medicine,” Steve said. “Sometimes for the newspaper when they needed it and could pay. Nothing fancy.” He half-smiled. “I’m told if anyone has the originals, it would be worth a fortune now.”

“But you wouldn’t be able to get any of it,” Laura surmised.

Steve shook his head. “No, but someone pointed out to the Army that I was not dead and therefore was owed back pay, so I’m not as concerned about money as I once was. How is your soap business?”

“On hold,” Laura replied, looking pleased he had remembered it. “It was a nice idea, but I figured out I like making soap for me, our family, and friends, not for strangers who want the world and don’t want to pay what’s worth.”

“Plus it stank,” Cooper announced.

“Cooper!” Laura admonished him.

“Mom, it did. You had to open all the windows and it was so cold,” Cooper said, with an eight-year-old’s innocence.

Clint looked at his wife, who looked mortified. “Okay, I didn’t hear about this. What scent was it?”

“Frankincense,” Laura said. “Never again. Plus, I was still pregnant with Nathaniel, and it was not pretty.”

Clint shook his head. “I told you that stuff stank.”

“You bought it for me anyway,” Laura shot back.

“Yeah, well, you said you needed it,” Clint said blandly. “I wasn’t going to question that.”

“Did your customer have a problem with you not delivering what he wanted?” Steve asked, looking curious.

“I told her that was not a scent I produced. She was disappointed but seemed okay,” Laura said. “Then I saw she posted a negative review on my online store, and…” She lifted her hands. “Some people. Did you want more stew, Steve?”

“Yes, please.” Steve passed over his bowl to her.

“Mom, may I be excused?” Cooper asked a moment later. “I’m full.”

Laura checked his bowl and saw he had eaten most of what she had served him. “Go ahead. Lila, are you done?”

Lila nodded. “May I go with Cooper?”

“Go ahead,” Laura said. “Put your bowls in the sink and then go brush your teeth.”

The kids left the table. “I’ll go make sure they use toothpaste,” Clint said. When Steve started to rise, Clint gently pressed his shoulder. “You finish eating. This is normal.”

Laura waited until Steve had eaten most of his second serving before asking, “I’m guessing you’re not on the run or in trouble, or Clint would act more anxious. Are you hiding from someone?”

“No, ma’am,” Steve said. “It’s been a year since I found out my best friend isn’t dead. He doesn’t seem to want to be anywhere near me. Got a message today reinforcing that idea. It’s more correct to say he’s hiding from me and well, everyone who might want him back.”

“But why would he hide from you?” Laura asked.

“Because Bucky’s not the man he was,” Steve said, grief and regret in his voice. “HYDRA had him and they turned him into a brainwashed tool to be used whenever they wanted and frozen when they didn’t. His last mission was to kill me. And so far, finding him has meant going through a lot of enemies.”

Laura looked horrified at that, one hand going up to cover her mouth.

Steve acknowledged that with a resigned, “Yeah, Natasha warned me it would not be easy.”

Laura studied him. “What happens if you find him and he says he doesn’t want to go?”

Steve took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I was driving myself crazy back in the Training Facility trying to predict all the possibilities now we know he’s been going after some of the HYDRA bases and having the facility’s AI to help me wasn’t helping. Didn’t want to think about it anymore.”

Laura nodded. “Then we won’t,” she said firmly. “Clint will be occupied with getting the kids to bed. If you’re finished, did you want to help me clean up the dishes?”

Steve nodded and picked up the bowl of stew and a few of the plates.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Steve said as he carried what he had picked up to the sink, “how did you and Clint meet?”

“Mutual friends,” Laura said. “I was working as a server in a steakhouse; he had recently gotten out of the Army Special Forces and – I didn’t know it at the time – being recruited by multiple organizations, not only SHIELD, but also a few of the private military contractors. My best friend, Rachel, was getting married, and asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. Clint got roped into being a groomsman. He was a last-minute substitution since the guy who was supposed to be there was called to a mission, and Rachel’s fiancé, Fernando, was desperate not to disappoint Rachel with a perfect wedding. Fernando asked Clint to substitute, since he had recruited half his old Special Forces squad to serve as groomsmen.” She chuckled as she remembered. “Clint looked so handsome in that tux; I was determined to have his number and a date. Later he told me he had never met anyone outside the Army so focused on him.” Laura glanced at Steve. “Did women chase men in the ‘40’s?”

“Sometimes,” Steve replied. “I kept hoping I’d meet a woman like that, so I wouldn’t have to be so tongue-tied and awkward.” He paused and added ruefully, “Then I did and realized I was still tongue-tied and awkward and tripping over myself.” He looked at Laura, his expression wry. “Thank God Peggy was not afraid to take what she wanted.”

Laura chuckled as she stacked the bowls and silverware they had used in the sink before loading the dishwasher. “What’s the biggest thing you wish people knew about you? And if’s too private, you can tell me I’m being too nosy.”

Steve studied her, not seeing any hidden agenda beyond genuine curiosity. He had seen how she had maneuvered Tony into talking to Nick Fury alone, how awkward she had been about needing a tractor repaired. Laura was not someone who would sell secrets to the tabloid press. Natasha, one of the most paranoid people Steve had ever met, trusted her; Clint had trusted her to keep the identities of his teammates secret. Moreover, Clint loved her, and had brought the team to her when they had nowhere to turn. Laura’s only visible concern then had been where everyone would sleep. Steve had enjoyed talking to her, and from the way she was acting, considered him a friend. Added to that was the fact that, once his secret was known to the team, Clint had talked about Laura, so Steve felt like he knew her. That made him more honest than he would with someone he did not know as well.

“That I’m bisexual and not a prude like people think Captain America should be,” Steve admitted. “I grew up in a gay neighborhood. Even was arrested a few times for being in a gay bar. I’m glad it’s not illegal to be gay anymore, that people who love each other can get married and nobody cares if they’re holding hands or kissing in public.” He let out a breath before adding, “I wish I had someone.”

“Who’d qualify?” Clint asked, stepping into the kitchen.

“Someone who won’t look at my name or face and conclude I’m pretending to be Captain America, or assume being with me would sully Captain America’s reputation,” Steve said sourly. “I’m not a saint.”

“You’re not?” Laura teased. “Not a paragon of virtue everyone should strive to be?”

Steve grimaced. “What the Army did with the image of Captain America after I crashed that plane – all I can say is that I’m glad Howard Stark had the forethought to ask me to sign paperwork saying all licensed product had to be approved by me or my estate. Still didn’t stop the media from turning Captain America into someone I barely recognize. Problem is Captain America is me, and I’m just a guy.”

“Which no one believes until they spend enough time with you,” Clint said.

Steve nodded. “Sometimes not even then. I’m still not sure if some of the SHIELD staff I met saw me as a person.”

“Depends,” Clint offered. “If you’re talking about Dr. Peterson, I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw you as body parts. He always creeped me out.”

“Short, thin guy, glasses, always tried to use a different accent under the pretense of practicing his acting skills?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, him.”

“Oh, good, then it wasn’t just me,” Steve said, relieved.

Just then, the baby monitor sounded with a cry. “Right on time,” Laura murmured, dropping in a dishwasher tablet, shutting the dishwasher, and turning it on. “Excuse me; I need to check on Nathaniel.”

Clint checked the table for any stray dishes before turning his attention to the crock-pot.

“What is that?” Steve asked. “I’ve never seen a pot with an electrical cord aside from a hot water or coffee pot.”

“Crock-pot,” Clint said. “It simmers a dish at a lower cooking temperature, so you can let it cook for four to eight hours before it’s done. Laura loves it because she can focus on other things while dinner’s cooking.” Clint pulled the inner pot out of the appliance and washed it by hand. “I don’t quite trust it, but she swears by it and I’ve never gotten poisoned, so.” He shrugged. “I never learned to cook before I met Laura, so there’s still a lot I haven’t learned.”

“I’ve been trying to cook more; I figure I shouldn’t get used to ordering everything already made,” Steve admitted. “It’s frustrating because the Training Facility doesn’t have a setup like in the Tower, where I can cook my own meals. And I eat a lot.”

Clint nodded. He had seen how much Steve could eat. “If you had called, I’d have made sure we had more.”

Steve waved off the apology. “Not starving, so what I had was enough. I got a new phone and haven’t figured out how to pair it with my helmet yet.”

“Tony hand you a new one again?”

Steve flashed a smile. “I asked him for one since I cracked the glass on the last one.”

“How did you do that?”

Steve looked sheepish. “Pulled it out of my pocket at a diner and dropped it right. Tony was adamant there was no way I should have been able to crack it by hitting the corner until I showed him I wasn’t the only one. Then he looked surprised I knew what YouTube was.”

Clint chuckled. “He doesn’t know you asked me how to use a computer and find things on the Internet, does he?”

“No,” Steve replied, grinning. “And I’m not about to tell him, either.” After the Battle of Manhattan, he had taken a long drive before turning around and finding out what SHIELD would do with Clint. Once he had discovered Clint was on lockdown and unable to leave the New York SHIELD facility until he was cleared for duty again, Steve had insisted SHIELD allow Clint to teach him the wonders of computers and the Internet, since that was something Clint could do while being watched. It had taken a less than twenty minutes before Nick Fury had declared they were better off doing it somewhere else, preferably private and not on SHIELD computers, and that Clint had sufficiently served his penance. Steve had invited Clint to his apartment, where Clint had spent the rest of the afternoon showing Steve how to use a computer, surf the Internet, and avoid popups and scams. Clint had been surprised then at how quickly Steve picked up technology; now, he knew Steve sometimes pretended to not know things so he could hear other people’s explanations and see their reactions.

Clint returned the grin as he set the crock-pot sleeve into the dish drainer. When Steve reached for a towel to dry it, Clint stopped him. “It’ll just get used soon enough; no sense in putting it away.”

Steve followed Clint into the living room. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back,” Clint said.

Clint moved to the nursery, where Laura was feeding their youngest son. Aware Steve had excellent hearing, the nursery baby monitor was on, and even without it, sound carried in the small house, Clint resorted to sign language.

 _I think Steve needs more than a hug tonight,_ Clint signed. Early in his relationship with Laura, a mission had made him temporarily deaf; she had responded by learning ASL and forcing him to learn with her. Now it was one way they communicated.

Laura held up a hand, then burped Nathaniel and put him in his crib before she responded. _You have my permission, but did you want my help?_

Love surged through Clint when he interpreted his wife’s words. He kissed her slow and sweet. “Always. You’re amazing,” he told her huskily.

Laura laughed. They had been polyamorous for as long as they had been together. Clint had seen what long missions had done to some of his coworkers’ relationships and had not wanted to fall victim to the same problems. Being polyamorous had forced him and Laura to communicate about what they wanted from a sexual relationship versus one with both sexual and emotional ties. It had meant Laura had not been alone during some of Clint’s longest missions; it had also meant that Clint’s occasionally sexual relationship with Natasha was not a threat to his marriage. Polyamory also allowed Clint to indulge his attraction to men.

With the kids asleep in their beds, Clint and Laura took the time to make sure their doors were closed.

When they returned to the living room, they saw Steve had pulled out a sketchbook and was drawing.

“What are you drawing?” Laura asked.

“Your daughter,” Steve said, showing her the partially finished sketch. He looked at her and Clint and asked, “Why does it seem as interested as you are in that, you have something else to ask me?”

“As much as you’re welcome to sleep in the guest bedroom,” Clint said, “I don’t think you should be alone tonight. You’re welcome to share our bed.”

Steve shook his head and put his sketchbook back in his bag. “I’m imposing,” he said. “I should go. Won’t be the first time I’ve ridden in the dark.” He rose.

Laura stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. “You’re not imposing, and I’m a firm believer in snuggling people. You look like someone who hasn’t been held in a long time.”

Caught off-guard, Steve stared at her. “Last time I shared a bed with anyone was —” He grimaced. “Well, it seems like two years ago, even if it’s actually seventy-five.”

Clint nodded. “With Bucky?”

Steve frowned. “Does everyone know that?”

“He was your best friend, who somehow helped keep you alive long enough despite you being sick enough to die multiple times. Most of us interpreted that to mean he had to have held you at least a few times,” Laura replied. She looked at him. “Unless he was something more and you didn’t dare disclose it because that was illegal back then?”

Steve looked away briefly. “Bucky wasn’t interested so we agreed not to discuss it again. He kept trying to get me to date women, hoping I’d get into less trouble that way.” Shaking his head slightly, Steve added, “All it did was teach me I liked them too.” He studied Laura and Clint. “I’ve never been a homewrecker and I’m not about to start because it’s a new century.”

“We’ve been together sixteen years,” Laura said, slipping an arm around Clint. “You in our bed, either to sleep and get cuddled, or something more sexual with me or with Clint or both of us will not destroy our marriage. We have opened our marriage to other people before and it hasn’t been a problem. And no, we don’t make this offer to just anyone, and no, we’re not offering because you’re Captain America.”

“You’re just Steve, a friend,” Clint said. “And given you drove all this way, I’d rather you didn’t leave thinking we were being too forward. What happens next is your move, and tomorrow, you and I will still be friends. Also, what happens here is between us. Nobody else gets to know.”

Steve took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Tonight, I want to sleep without feeling like I’m missing someone who should be there. Anything beyond that – I need to think about it.”

“Fair enough,” Laura said as Clint nodded agreement.

“How early do you get up?” Steve asked.

“6 AM usually,” Laura said. “Nathaniel’s still in the ‘feed me’ all the time stage, so I sleep little right now. I take a nap after Cooper and Lila get on the bus, which picks them up on the edge of the road at 7:30. Both of them attend a year-round school.”

“Which also means you don’t have to leave right away if you don’t want to,” Clint added. He stepped forward and hugged Steve, suspecting the other man would not ask for it.

Steve froze momentarily before leaning into the embrace, his arms rising to hold Clint closer. Laura hugged Steve from behind. Sandwiched between them, Steve closed his eyes, overwhelmed by the simple gesture.

How long they stood there, none of them could say. Laura stepped back first. “Guys, it’s getting late. I need to shower and change. Steve, if you want to use the bathroom in the guest bedroom, it should have everything you need if you want to shower. Once you’re ready, you can meet us in our bedroom.”


	2. Chapter 2

Certain he had road dust clinging to him, Steve showered, grateful to find that the soap in the guest bathroom (which, from the looks of things, doubled as the kids’ bathroom) was not bubblegum scented or anything weird like that. As he cleaned his body, he contemplated Laura and Clint’s offer. Clint had flirted with Steve on that first day of one-on-one computer training, and then, when Steve had explained he did not sleep with members of his team, had asked if Steve objected to hugs. Clint’s hugs, easy friendship, quick wit, and occasional check-ins to see if Steve needed someone to do more had helped cement their friendship. Now that Clint was retired from the Avengers, he was no longer off-limits. That alone was a temptation. Steve had long appreciated Clint’s body; he liked that Clint worked hard to maintain his level of fitness and was willing to push himself to keep up with Steve, even if it meant admitting he had limits. Steve also admired Clint’s mind and spirit: he had been impressed with Clint’s ability to recover from Loki’s abuse, and then discovered Clint had the kind of humor Steve had always found attractive. Steve also appreciated that Clint was not a man who talked to hear himself think. Added to the attraction was knowing Clint came from the same sort of hard-scrabble childhood Steve had, where knowing how to make do with less made you appreciate not having to all the more.

Steve was not worried about what having sex would do to his relationship with Clint. He knew it would change things; he was too much of a pragmatist to believe otherwise. Yet he was convinced that whatever the changes would be, they would make it through as long as they continued to communicate with each other. He had to be certain of that before he went any farther. Steve had lost too much to words unsaid; he was not about to make the same mistakes again. For all that had been said about his relationships with Bucky and Peggy, Steve knew he had not told either of them enough how much they meant to him. Now he could, on Peggy’s good days, tell her, but his love for her was tempered now by the knowledge she would not and could not be the woman he had fallen for seventy-five years ago; too much time had passed.

Laura was not Peggy, Steve knew, but he was intrigued by her the same. Here was a woman who accepted the Avengers into her home, broken, fractured, and shattered, and given them shelter and hope. The little conversation he had had with her back in April had reinforced a sense of a woman who seemed content to be a wife and mother who was extremely supportive of her husband’s choice of career. She radiated quiet strength, grace, and compassion, and he wanted to know more.

From what he knew about pregnancy and childbirth, Steve suspected Laura might not do much, but he had noticed the way she balanced Clint with sheer presence alone. Steve had a weakness for strong, confident, capable people. Laura might not be a muscle-bound warrior woman, but she had showed an ability to roll with unexpected surprises, and that was something Steve would always find sexy in a woman.

Still, doubts remained. He had come here, wanting a distraction from the knowledge his best friend was somewhere in the world, hiding out and not safe. Did he want sex, or did he just want some reassurance he was not as alone as he thought? Steve asked himself. What mattered to him more, especially since he was tired and prone to making impulsive decisions?

Having finished his shower and dried off, Steve changed into the t-shirt and military-issue gym shorts he used as sleepwear; he had packed his backpack with enough clothes for two days on the road. He dumped the clothes he had worn back into his backpack and took it with him into the master bedroom.

When Steve stepped into the large bedroom, Laura and Clint were kissing. Clint had changed into a navy t-shirt and gray sleep pants; Laura wore a knee-length button-down nightshirt and black leggings. Steve’s breath caught at the sight of the pure love and passion they showed each other, and his footsteps halted inside the doorway. They looked as though they had forgotten he was there. He nearly turned and left before Laura broke the kiss, saying, “Easy, love. I’m not up to that yet.”

Clint chuckled. “Just making sure you knew.”

“Fat chance of me ever forgetting,” Laura laughed. She turned to Steve. “It’s how we have three kids, after all.”

Steve looked at Clint, who had moved to shut the door behind Steve before stepping around him to stand near Laura. Steve rewound the conversation in his head, not certain he had caught the meaning. Cautiously, he asked, “Is your wife implying you want something more?”

Unashamed, Clint replied, “Yes, she’s saying I’m a sex fiend. It’s one reason we have an open marriage. My sex drive and hers are different. Did the serum kick yours into high gear?”

Surprised at the question, Steve said, “Yes. How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” Clint said. “God knows once I hit puberty, I couldn’t seem to get enough. My mentors in the circus thought as long as I used condoms and could get back to the circus before we left town, they didn’t care who I slept with or what gender.” He paused and added gently, “Plus, one thing I was briefed on was what Bruce’s experiments did to his body. The report was very detailed about what the original serum was likely to amplify and what his experiment succeeded at.”

Steve winced at that disclosure. “Were you an agent assigned to him?”

Clint shook his head. “No, I was sent to watch over Thor, who’d just crash-landed in New Mexico. At first, SHIELD thought he might be another serum experiment, hence the briefing I got.” Clint paused before adding, “Consider not donating any future fluids to SHIELD. They’ve been running tests on you forever.”

“Yeah, I already said no after I figured out they wanted me to be a lab rat again,” Steve said. “I had enough of it the first time from Howard.” Taking a deep breath, Steve added, “Anything you want to ask me?”

“About the serum and its effects?” Clint clarified. “No. That’s work, and work doesn’t belong in this room. You look like you have questions for us, though.”

“About what you offered,” Steve began, “I have a few questions, starting with – how does this work?”

Clint looked at him and said, “You tell us what you want. If you want sex, tell us who you want to have sex with, if you want both of us or just one of us and if you’re okay with the other person watching if they’re not involved, and we’ll get naked and have sex. If you just want to sleep, the only hitch is that Laura needs to be on the outside of the bed, so she can get up and feed Nate.

“Just to be clear: there is no pressure on you to do anything, and the offer doesn’t expire tonight if you don’t want it to. You want to walk out of this room and use the guest bedroom, you have that option too.”

Steve met his gaze and closed the distance between them. “If something happened and I needed you to be an Avenger again –”

“– you’d still be my captain,” Clint declared. “And I wouldn’t risk myself any more or any less just because we had this night or anything we might do.”

“I’m more worried we would stop talking,” Steve admitted.

“What, like a one-night stand?” Shaking his head, Clint said, “Polyamory, just like friendship, only works when you communicate with each other. Between you and me, we have secrets we can’t tell each other because of national security and I’m fine with that as long as those secrets don’t cause us or the people we love harm. But if you want something from me or Laura or both of us, regardless of what it is, tell us.”

“If it helps any,” Laura added, “I am attracted to you, and I like the guy I’ve been getting to know, between the last time you were here and tonight. Keep in mind, I can’t have vaginal sex, but anything else is on the table. I like to watch, but if that bothers you, I can leave.”

Laura stepped closer and put a hand on Steve’s arm. “I know it’s a lot to digest,” she offered, looking at him with an understanding smile. “Take your time.”

Steve looked at Laura, feeling the gentle pressure of her hand on his arm, then looked at Clint. “As tempting as you both are, I’d rather just have you holding me. I didn’t want to be alone tonight, and I’d rather decide when I’m not as tired as I am now.”

“In that case,” Laura said, “you take the middle; Clint, you hold him.” She stepped away and pulled the sheets back on the bed.

Steve climbed into bed and Clint took position on his right; Laura on his left. Both curled into him, holding him, and Steve had to take a breath because it felt so right. It did not take long for sleep to claim them.

Steve woke when Laura left the bed, but she kissed his cheek and said softly, “Sleep. Nathaniel’s hungry; I’ll be back soon.” Steve shifted to hold Clint more easily, closed his eyes, and fell back asleep, feeling safe and secure and loved.

In the morning, Steve woke to an empty bed. From the smell, someone was cooking bacon and eggs. Steve's superior hearing meant he could hear Clint clearly as he walked down the hall and rapped on the door to his oldest son's bedroom. That meant Laura was cooking.

“Up and at 'em, Coop,” Clint said cheerfully.

“Aw, Dad, already?”

“Yes, already,” Clint replied. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

“No, thanks.”

Steve lay in bed and listened as Clint repeated his actions with Lila. “Up at 'em, Lila,” Clint said in the same cheerful voice. “No, no, you can't hide under the covers, sweetheart.”

“Wanna sleep, Daddy.”

“Well, so do I, Lila, but I got up, so that means you do too. Come on, baby girl, that's the way. You want the pink dress or the blue one?”

Steve grinned. He had thought Lila would have been the eager one, but he had been wrong.

Steve took advantage of the empty adjoining bath to use the toilet, wash his face, and comb his hair. He changed out of the clothes he used to sleep in and put on a clean t-shirt, jeans, and socks before heading downstairs. Laura was dressed in the same sleep clothes she had worn the night before, her long brown hair loose. Her lack of artifice reassured Steve she was not putting on a show for his benefit.

Laura poured orange juice for Cooper and Lila, who sat at the table in the kitchen. Lila was munching on bacon; Cooper was pouring ketchup on his eggs, much to his mother’s chagrin. Laura looked tired, as expected of a woman nursing a month-old baby.

“You won’t eat tomatoes, but you’ll eat ketchup,” Laura muttered.

“Tomatoes are icky,” Cooper declared, and set the ketchup bottle down before eating his eggs with gusto.

Steve sensed more than heard Clint come up behind him. “Don’t tell him ketchup is tomatoes,” Clint whispered. “He won’t eat it then and we need him to eat his vegetables somehow.”

Steve turned. Clint was close enough to kiss, his smile bright and conspiratorial. He had put on jeans and a faded t-shirt for a band Steve recognized only because Clint had introduced him to their music. This close, Steve smelled the faint scent of the shea butter soap Clint had used, no doubt one of Laura’s creations, and see that Clint taken the time to shave. Desire suddenly shot through Steve, heady and sharp, and he had to take a breath to focus on the conversation.

“Got it,” Steve said. “What should I do if Cooper asks me if ketchup is tomatoes?”

Clint grinned. “Let me handle it.” He patted Steve’s shoulder before stepping into the kitchen. The touch made Steve remember the offer Clint and Laura had made. Steve was aware it had been a long time since he had had sex. His tries to find someone outside SHIELD had met with frustrating variations on a theme wherein his identity as Captain America, presumed paragon of virtue, had taken precedence over any success. The three most successful attempts had been one-night stands, with the last nothing more than an anonymous quickie in a bar bathroom. Steve craved a deeper connection, something where friendship mattered.

Now, watching Clint move to kiss Laura, all Steve could think about was he had nowhere to be for the next forty-eight hours. Plans raced through his head, and then his stomach growled, reminding him that dinner was hours ago. _Breakfast first_ , Steve told himself firmly.

Breakfast was laid out in the middle of the table and a place had been set for Steve to Laura’s right. Clint sat down as Steve did and stopped Cooper from spilling his sister’s glass.

“Good morning,” Steve greeted as he sat down.

“Morning,” Laura said as the kids echoed the greeting. “Help yourself. I made extra so if there’s not enough, let me know.”

“Thank you,” Steve said, and the next several minutes were consumed with eating and talking with the children. Cooper was excited about going to school and seemed more awake than his sister. He was also more prone to gesturing wildly; Steve had to intervene before he knocked over his glass. Amused and feeling like a part of a family he had not expected to have, Steve ate and kept up the thread of conversation as Laura and Clint made sure their children ate enough of what they had been served so they would not be hungry before lunch. Cooper finished eating first. Lila, not wanting to be outdone, quickly finished. Laura then made sure the kids brushed their teeth; Clint helped by making sure they both had their school bags and lunches before walking them down to wait for the bus.

Alone, Laura turned to Steve, who had waited until after the family had eaten to finish eating what remained. “You’re welcome to stay the day if you like,” she said. “The kids won’t be back until 3:30.”

“Appreciate that,” Steve said. “Is there anything I can help with, other than the dishes?”

Laura smiled. “No, but you can check with Clint; he usually finds something to do. Take your time; don’t rush on my account. I’m going to feed and change Nathaniel and go to bed.”

A thought occurred to Steve, a commercial he had seen, and he asked, “Not into using formula?”

Laura shook her head. “Not for the first few weeks at least. I’ll pump my milk so Clint can help but I’m not ready to do that just yet. Someone needs to design a better breast pump.”

“You should mention that to Tony Stark,” Steve suggested. “He could use something else to design.”

Laura shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. “Let’s not tempt fate.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek before exiting the room.

By the time Steve had finished eating and started clearing the table of dishes, Clint returned. He looked a little sad, as if seeing his kids off to school took a little out of him. Steve supposed it would; he remembered seeing that look on his mother, before she got sick.

“Gets to me sometimes,” Clint explained. “Every time I’m here long enough to see them off to school several days in a row or more, I ask myself why I ever stayed away.”

“Because you have a unique skillset, you’re good at it, and the world needs you?” Steve asked.

Clint slanted a look at him as he gathered the breakfast dishes. “Not like they can’t train someone else to be a master assassin. Or shoot a bow the way I do.”

Steve picked up some of the dishes as he said, “Maybe, but they wouldn’t be you. They might not care as much or have the guts to go up against a fully weaponized army with a bow. Most snipers would rather shoot a rifle than have to think about having the arm strength to pull a bow.”

“You seem to do fine without me,” Clint countered.

“For now,” Steve agreed as he set the dishes in the sink. “But we also don’t have someone who can do what you do. Natasha’s skills are best used up close and personal; you’re the guy for distance work. We can find someone, sure. Do I miss you? Yes.” He waited until Clint’s hands were free before he stepped closer. “But then I wouldn’t feel right in kissing you.”

Clint smiled and closed the distance. “Like this?” he asked, pressing his lips to Steve’s.

Eagerly, Steve returned the kiss, relishing the moment. Clint held himself still, as if unsure of how far Steve was willing to go. While Steve appreciated his caution, he knew what he wanted. If he was going to stay a while longer, he wanted to be sure he used the invitation Clint and Laura had made. Steve had lived long enough to know tomorrow was not guaranteed, and if he was called to a mission, he did not want to regret the things he had not done.

Pulling back, Steve said, “I don’t want to stop at kissing. I don’t want to leave here feeling like I left something unfinished.”

“Because?” Clint asked.

“Because if I left, all I’ll do is think of six ways to talk myself out of doing this,” Steve admitted, “or come up with some stupidly elaborate plan to do it and it’ll fall apart the moment I see you or Laura because I’ll forget how words work.”

Clint eyed him, not believing. “I’ve seen you come up with plans on the fly that work. They shouldn’t, but they do.”

Steve hunched his shoulders slightly. “That’s me doing work. Kissing you, with the hope of more, including kissing your wife later – that’s different. Much as I’ve gotten used to this body, my head’s been slower to catch up.” He met Clint’s gaze. “Some days I still think I’m this scrawny, sickly kid who only manages to get laid through sheer persistence.”

“Some days I think I traded one circus for another,” Clint commiserated. “And as much as I like your body, Steve, you wouldn’t be hella sexy without your mind.” He studied Steve a moment. “Last chance to back out. I don’t want you regretting this.”

Steve appreciated what Clint was doing, but he had made up his mind. “I want you,” he told Clint. “I want you kissing me, sucking me, and fucking me. I’d like to kiss Laura while you watch, see how much she can take before she has to tap out. That sound like regret to you?”

Clint kissed him in reply. “No, but Laura’s sleeping in the master bedroom, and you and I are not going to do this on the living room couch.”

“How about in the guest bedroom?” Steve countered.

“That works. One thing before we go there: I always use condoms, no matter who I’m with, even with oral sex. That a problem?”

Steve shook his head, pleased to know Clint took safe sex seriously. “Only in the sense I don’t fit into most standard ones.”

Clint shot him a grin. “Me neither. I’ll meet you there; I need to grab lube and condoms from our room.”

Steve followed Clint up the stairs before heading into the guest bedroom. While he waited for Clint to return, Steve took off his clothes and laid in the bed.

Clint stepped into the room a moment later and set the lube and condoms on the nightstand. “In a hurry? We have all day unless you have somewhere to be.”

“Consider it incentive,” Steve replied. “The faster you get in this bed, the more time we’ll have with each other.”

Clint chuckled and stripped himself of his clothes, dumping the lot in a pile beside Steve’s. “I see,” he said, and settled himself next to Steve before kissing him slowly. Clint seemed determined to seduce him, and the fear Steve had that all Clint would share with him was a simple fuck evaporated with every caress, every ounce of tenderness. Steve quickly became addicted to the way Clint kissed, as if nothing mattered more than being able to taste and explore Steve. Naked, Clint’s arousal against his leg was an insistent reminder he was with another man. Clint was an inch shorter in height, with a less broad frame, and Steve realized abruptly he had never been with a man like Clint. Most of his past experiences were with less muscled men, men who could not match his strength, men who did not have above-average reflexes and intelligence. Realizing that only made Steve want Clint more. Here was a man unafraid of Steve’s strength, who had shown he could keep up in training, who was now naked beside him, showing him how much he wanted Steve.

Clint broke their kiss to nibble and kiss his way down Steve’s neck and to his nipples. Steve cried out when Clint tongued first the left one, then the right, then focused his attention on the left while massaging the right. Steve’s cry changed to a moan as pleasure surged through him. He had no idea his nipples were that sensitive, and his breath caught as Clint repeated the sucking and tonguing on the other side.

“Nnhgh,” Steve cried when the pleasure spiked towards pain.

Clint lifted his head and looked smug. “Too much?”

“Little bit,” Steve panted. “Nobody’s ever done that.”

“Well, good for me,” Clint said, and moved downward to stroke him. He reached for a condom on the nightstand and deftly applied it to Steve.

For a moment, Steve feared the condom would be too thick or too small to feel any sensation, then he realized how thin and perfectly shaped it was. He inhaled sharply at the first touch of Clint’s mouth on his large cock, then moaned as Clint showed he had no problem taking it on the first try. Steve was not a small man; the serum had only amplified one of the few assets he had prior to it. Clint was also not content with being able to take it all; he also massaged Steve’s balls, drowning Steve with pleasure and desire. It was not long before Steve orgasmed. Clint then carefully rose and reached for the bottle of lubricant.

Gently, he prepared Steve’s asshole before slipping on a condom and lathering it with lube. Steve grabbed a pillow and placed it under himself, loving the look of desire and determination on Clint’s face. He suspected his new lover was on the edge of orgasm and was holding it off by willpower alone. “I’m ready,” he told Clint.

Clint nodded and inserted his cock into Steve’s ass. Steve forced himself to exhale even as he relished the feeling of Clint’s thick cock. Clint soon began to thrust into him, and Steve met every thrust. Clint also reached for Steve’s cock, and stroked it in time to his thrusts.

“You like this?”

“Yes,” Steve answered. “God, Clint, so good, yes.”

“Gonna make you come,” Clint promised. “You feel so good around me.”

Affection and desire wove together in a fire pit of passion as Clint’s words sputtered into a litany of repetition of moans and grunts, echoed by Steve. It was not long before both men surrendered to the lure of passion’s flame, falling over in a sweaty heap.

Clint reluctantly pulled out, then helped Steve remove his condom and then pulled off the one he had worn before dumping both into the trashcan by the bed. Clint then cuddled Steve, and Steve wrapped his arms around him.

“Want more or you good for now?” Clint asked.

“Give me about five minutes,” Steve said. “And while we both can think – do you want me in you?”

“Hell yes,” Clint said. “Anything I did to you, you can do to me.”

Steve took him at his word and spent the next three hours learning just what made Clint moan and demand more. Clint proved to be an enthusiastic, acrobatic lover, willing to see if he could match Steve’s refractory period and give Steve an unforgettable, heady, passionate morning. The two men could have spent the day trying to see if Clint could keep up, but Laura knocked on the door around lunchtime, interrupting the slight doze they had fallen into after their last round.

“If you two are up for it, I’m serving lunch in twenty minutes,” she called.

Steve kissed Clint. “As much as I want to continue this,” he said, “I need to eat.”

Clint kissed him back. “Shower first,” he suggested. “You first or I’ll be tempted again.”

Steve chuckled. By now, he knew Clint liked sucking cock a lot, and had shown no hesitation in getting Steve off that way as much as possible. “You’d better leave first, or I’ll be tempted to let you.”

Clint picked up his clothes, and comfortable in his nudity, left the room. Steve headed into the adjoining bathroom to shower. Once clean, he donned the clothes he had worn that morning, and headed downstairs.

He had been half-afraid seeing Laura at lunch would be awkward, but she defused the tension right away. “Did you two have fun while I was napping?”

Steve blushed and stammered, “Yes, ma’am.” He looked at her awkwardly, wondering if she wanted details.

Laura grinned and read his mind. “That good, huh? And no, I don’t need a play-by-play. I can tell from the way you’re blushing and Clint’s looking smug that you had fun. Well, if you weren’t here, Clint would dismantle the sun porch instead of putting it back together.”

Giving into the urge, Steve teased, “Channeling frustration?”

“Hey, it’s worked,” Clint said easily. “Speaking of, I’d love for you to give me a hand. I promised Laura it’s the last project in this house and I haven’t finished it yet.”

Steve nodded. “Sure. What do you need?”

“Storm damaged it last year, blew out all the windows and damaged the door to the outside,” Clint said. “All I managed was to clear out the glass and prevent the weather from getting into the side of the house, but now I’d like to fix it up properly.”

“I’d love to help with that,” Steve said, and turned to Laura. “Anything I can do to help with lunch?”

“Grab the mustard from the fridge,” Laura directed.

Steve spent the afternoon helping Clint with the sun porch, breaking only to welcome the children back from school. The two men put up a tarp to protect the room from the weather before it got too dark to work.

Once the tools were put away in the barn, Clint took advantage of their relative privacy to kiss Steve. “You’re welcome to stay,” he told Steve when they came up for air. “Same rules as before.”

“One more night,” Steve agreed. “Then I need to get back.” He paused. “Do you mind if I ask a question?”

Clint barked a laugh. “I’ll always tell you if I can’t answer, Steve.”

“Are you and Natasha lovers?”

Clint met Steve’s gaze unflinchingly. “Used to be,” he admitted. “We haven’t been that way in several years. She fell in love with someone, so we stopped, and then never changed it. Why? Interested in her?”

Steve shook his head. “No, – when I saw you together, I realized she cared about you, and I wondered.”

Clint chuckled. “We often play that up, so I can keep Laura and the kids a secret. You aren’t the first to wonder.”

Steve nodded and moved to exit the barn as Clint did the same.

This time, when Steve shut the door to the master bedroom, he found Laura waiting for him. She wore a high-rise panty and nothing else. “Clint will be here soon,” Laura told him. “He’s reading to Lila.”

“I see,” Steve said. “Giving us some privacy?”

Laura shook her head. “Not intentionally, but I was hoping to take advantage anyway.” She looked at him. “I want to kiss you and suck you off, if that’s okay? As much as I’d like to be between you and Clint and take you both, I’m not cleared for that kind of fun.”

Steve drew in a breath at the image she conjured. She was a siren, tempting him with a fantasy he had only seen in porn, and never thought he could have in real life. “I’ve never been with two people at once.”

Laura smiled. “We can fix that. Do you want me to suck you off while Clint is inside you?”

Words failed him and for a moment, Steve could not speak. Swallowing hard, he looked at her. “Yes,” he said huskily. “But I don’t… I mean, I don’t want to…” His voice trailed off and he took a breath. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She studied him, reading his nerves. “As long as you don’t fall on me or thrust too hard, we’ll be okay. I can’t do the deep throat thing Clint does anyway. Get undressed and come here; I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”

Stripping out of the clothes he was using as sleepwear, Steve joined her on the bed. Still, he wanted what she wanted, and kissed her. She was gentler than her husband, and somehow just as sweet. The press of his lips against hers sent tendrils of desire curling through him. She responded to his kisses by parting her lips, raising her arms to hold him close, and then let him possess her mouth and duel with her tongue. Needing to explore, Steve pressed kisses down her neck.

She whimpered as he licked her collarbone and caressed her breasts. “If you don’t want to taste my milk, don’t suck,” she warned.

“Got it,” he said, reluctantly moving back up to kiss her, then reaching for a condom from the box on the nightstand. Kissing her and touching her had made him harder than he had expected. Knowing Clint could come in at any minute added its own spice. “How do you want me?”

Before she could answer that, the door opened, and Clint stepped inside. “Started without me, I see,” he teased, and shut the door.

“Then get over here,” Laura said. “Steve, did you want both of us?”

“Yes,” Steve said, watching Clint undress.

Clint kissed Laura, then Steve. “Laura in front and me in back, I take it?” he asked, and both Laura and Steve nodded. Clint was already half-hard. Steve reached for his cock at the same time as Laura did. Together, they stroked Clint to full hardness.

Laura directed Steve to lie over her, and she reversed her position on the bed so she could suck his cock more easily. Clint kissed Steve’s shoulder, then scattered kisses over his back as he prepared Steve’s asshole. Laura did not take his cock as deep as Clint had, but she paid attention to the head and stroked what she could not put in her mouth. Clint eased his cock into Steve’s asshole, and though Steve was now more familiar with Clint’s width, it still took Steve’s breath away. Steve forced himself to breathe as Clint pounded into him with long, deliberate strokes. He closed his eyes, unable to focus for the sensations flooding through him. Laura’s mouth and hands, Clint’s thick cock in his ass, the love between Laura and Clint enveloping him even as they drove him to orgasm, it was too much to see and feel. He came harder than he ever had and would have collapsed onto Laura if he had not remembered Clint was still in him and not yet at his peak. Breathing hard, Steve forced himself to stay upright on his hands and knees.

Laura slid up and kissed him, distracting him as he tried to get Clint off.

Clint groaned as he came a few thrusts later. He lay across Steve’s back for a moment while he caught his breath, then slid out. He tossed the condom in the trash as Steve sat back on his haunches, so Laura could move out from underneath him. She kissed him, and helped him dispose of the condom, rising from the bed to do so.

“Want to do that again sometime?” Laura asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Ask me again when I have brains again,” Steve replied, flopping to the bed.

Just then, Nathaniel cried, interrupting the spell.

Laura kissed Steve and Clint. “You two make sure you sleep sometime.”

Clint crawled into bed and cuddled Steve close. “First time with more than one person?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Steve said. He looked at Clint. “I could get used to that.”

Clint chuckled. “You are welcome in our bed anytime.” He kissed Steve tenderly before asking, “Promise me when you get back to the Training Facility you think about this and decide if it’s something you want again. I know you said you’d probably think about elaborate plans and I get that, but we don’t need that kind of shit. I care about you and Laura does too. If this trip is the only time we’re like this, that’s okay, but I’d like to know.”

Steve let out a breath, aware that a line had been crossed. He wanted to have sex with Clint and Laura again, to know someone in his life cared about him and could be trusted that way. “Expecting me to freak out when I’m alone?”

“Laura did, back when this was new to her,” Clint said freely. “Most people do. It’s not ‘normal’; it’s the stuff of porn.”

Steve closed his eyes; he had grown up in a much more closeted era and could imagine that even as open as the current century was, there were things people still did not discuss in polite society. “I don’t think I will freak out,” he noted. “In case you haven’t noticed, I tend not to spend a lot of time second-guessing the things I do.”

Clint grinned. “True, but I’d feel better if you made no long-term decisions in the afterglow of sex.” He paused and leered deliberately. “Speaking of, did you want more? I know you can get it up again.”

Steve laughed and kissed him. “Not right now,” he told Clint. “Maybe in a while. I just want sleep. You two wore me out.”

Clint pulled him closer. “Then sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Next update should be Friday. I'm trying to get this out there before Infinity War completely changes my perception of the characters.~~


	3. Chapter 3

In the morning, Steve found himself to reluctant to leave, but he made himself go after finishing the sketch for Lila, then, because he remembered Bucky telling him how he had to share things with his sisters, did one for Cooper. Lila loved the sketch. Cooper hung back, trying to be the uninterested older sibling. When Steve passed him the one he had drawn of Cooper, Cooper’s jaw dropped.

“You made me one too?” Cooper asked. “Thank you!” He hugged Steve and ran off to his room.

“Afraid Lila’s going to take it from him,” Clint interpreted. To his daughter, he said, “No taking Cooper’s, okay?”

“I won’t,” Lila promised. “But can I get another one?”

“Not right now,” Clint told his daughter. “Steve has to go.”

Lila pouted. “But why?”

“Because I have to work,” Steve told her, crouching down to address her directly.

“Oh. Are you a hero like my daddy?”

“Yes,” Steve told her, amused.

“I guess you can go,” Lila declared, taking her sketch back to her room.

Steve smothered a laugh as he rose to his feet and looked at Laura. “If you want me to draw any of your family, let me know.”

“We’d be honored,” Laura replied. “Clint texted you my number, so you can text me any of your drawings.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Especially the naughty ones.” She kissed him and stepped back.

Steve blushed and swallowed hard. “I promise to text you both when I get home.”

Clint met his eyes as he told Laura, “Behave; he has a long drive home.” Then he kissed Steve, slow and filthy, making Steve wish he did not have a timetable to meet.

“Who’s not behaving now?” Steve managed.

“I never promised I would,” Clint returned wickedly. “But if you don’t want to late, you’d better get out of here now.”

Hastily, Steve departed.

Six hours later, Natasha met him in the garage. “You look better. Did you have a good ride?” she asked as he dismounted, removed his helmet, and slipped it over a handlebar.

Steve nodded. “Needed that.” From the look on her face, Natasha had a million questions about where he had gone. What he had shared with Clint and Laura was private; he was not about to ask what Natasha had done with Clint. Still, he offered her a concession, aware she cared deeply about the Bartons and would, if he did not share with her, find a perfect moment in which to ask him questions. Usually that meant in front of other people and when he had few options to escape without being rude. “Visited Clint and Laura. They said to tell you hello.”

She smiled. “I was hoping you’d go that way,” she said with a nod. “Is Laura sleeping enough?”

“She’s taking naps after the kids go to school, and Clint’s pulling his weight.”

Natasha relaxed. “I was worried only me would visit them.”

“I don’t like to ignore people,” Steve replied. “Especially friends.”

At her nod of understanding, he changed the subject. “Anything going on I need to be aware of?”

Natasha shook her head. “Everything’s quiet for now, which usually means something will happen soon or is happening and not big enough for us.”

Steve grimaced at her assessment. “Let’s enjoy the moment and hope it’s nothing, period.”

Once in the privacy of his room, Steve texted Laura and Clint. _I’m home,_ he wrote.

 _Any problems on the ride up?_ Laura asked.

 _No,_ Steve said.

 _So how many people noticed you gassing up and wondered if you were Captain America?_ Clint asked.

Steve laughed. _Three too many, but I like that you don’t have to go into the store to pay for gas anymore. Made getting out of there faster_.

Over the next three weeks, Steve threw himself into the training program, even as he pondered the promise he had made to Clint. Texting the other man, occasionally exchanging a video call or a funny video, felt like a return to the friendship they had shared before becoming intimate. Adding Laura to the list of people Steve texted felt like a simple extension of that friendship. He sent Laura and Clint photos of the paper sketches he drew along with snaps of the sketches he did digitally – nothing they could not show to their kids. For his birthday, Clint and Laura sent him a video wherein they got together with their children to sing him “Happy Birthday.” Yet with every text, every video, Steve was vividly aware he, Laura, and Clint were more than friends.

His private sketches were full of memories of them. He had sketched Laura with her long hair loose against the pillow, wearing nothing but underwear and smile full of wicked promise. He had sketched Laura and Clint kissing and another of Clint, naked, dozing in the wake of sated passion. He jacked himself off to the memories of that glorious morning with Clint, of that evening with Laura and Clint.

He wanted more, and he wanted them. Trying to find someone else to fill that space as willing to give him the opportunity to revel in being held as they were to fuck him seemed like more effort than he wanted to expend. Not wanting to feel as though he had ignored the possibility of doing so, Steve did internet research. He learned about swinging and polyamory, and the forums and meetups for both, and read up on the common issues. By the time he was finished with his research, Steve was confident he understood what he was doing. He would not be satisfied without Clint and Laura as his lovers.

Before he could call them to say what he wanted, however, the Avengers were asked to take on a mission in North Carolina. It was the first mission of the new Avengers team and wound up being messier and more complex than they had expected. However, they managed to complete it in forty-eight hours. The coordination of the fallout, however, took both Steve and Natasha another day to complete. By the end, Steve was tired of politics and dealing with bureaucrats who wanted to pin the blame on anyone but the real culprits. It made wanting to be with Clint and Laura that much more of an ache.

Finally free of the post-mission chaos, Steve called Clint on video. “Any chance I could come down for the weekend? I’ll pay for the extra groceries.”

Clint chuckled. “We’d love to have you,” he said, “as long as you’re not arriving in the next two hours. Laura and I are headed to the farmer’s market with the kids; we won’t be back until the afternoon.”

“No, I’m still at home,” Steve said. “And I thought about what you said. I’m not freaking out, and I’d like to keep on doing what we did.”

Clint grinned. “Good. I liked what we did. Laura got her all-clear from her gynecologist last week, so she can join in the fun too if you’re interested.”

Steve drew in a breath as he remembered what she had said she wanted to do. “Only if she’s well enough for it.”

“Oh, she’s mentioned she’d love it,” Clint assured him. “She was worried she had scared you off since you didn’t talk about it in your texts.”

Startled, Steve blurted, “What if your kids read them?”

“That’s what I told her; you’re a gentleman that way,” Clint said, looking amused. “You’re not likely talk dirty.”

“Not if I think other people might see it,” Steve managed. He took a breath. “Anyone ever tell you your wife is dangerous?”

Clint’s grin widened. “Why do you think I married her? So we should expect you on Saturday?”

“No, I was thinking I could come tomorrow. We have nothing scheduled since we finished a mission. Wanda and Natasha are headed to the City to meet with Pepper for some clothes shopping and spa time and Rhodey has some Air Force obligations this weekend, so I figured it was easier to cancel training for the day. If I leave early enough, I should be there by lunchtime.”

“See you then. Call me when you’re halfway here so I have a rough ETA.”

“Will do.”

Friday morning found him packing for another trip south. As he got ready, he heard a knock on his door and found Sam standing outside.

“Hey, I was wondering, if you weren’t doing anything, we could head into the City, get some real food, and watch a movie,” Sam said, his voice trailing off as he noticed the half-packed backpack. “Unless you have other plans?”

“Sorry,” Steve said. As much as he enjoyed Sam’s company and considered him to be a friend, Steve wanted to be elsewhere.

Sam studied him. “Another road trip?” Sam sounded wary, as if he expected the worst.

“Not looking for Bucky, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Steve said. “Thought I’d go visit Hawkeye, check out how he’s doing since he retired.”

Sam frowned. “Is that why he’s not part of this crew?”

“Yes,” Steve said, stuffing another two pairs of underwear and a t-shirt into the canvas backpack before zipping it shut. “He has a wife, three kids, and a hay farm.”

Sam blinked at that news. “A hay farm? Hawkeye? I thought he was a city boy like me.”

Steve chuckled. “No. He’s from a small town in Iowa and spent part of his childhood in a traveling circus. That’s where he learned to shoot a bow.” He looked at Sam. “I thought you knew this?”

“You have a bad habit of assuming I know stuff only you and Natasha do,” Sam pointed out. “All I cared about when I met him last year was whether he could pilot a quinjet and get us to where we needed to go so we could pick up Barnes’s trail. Imagine my surprise when I found out Hawkeye’s weapon of choice was a bow and arrow.” Sam’s voice was dry.

“Sorry. I was distracted last year. Finding Bucky was alive was one thing. Discovering he’s spent the last seventy years being a weapon of HYDRA,” Steve let out a breath. “That’s something else.”

Sam acknowledged the apology with a nod. “Yeah.” He paused. “I remember you telling me about that voice message he left you a few months months ago.”

Steve grimaced. He had not expected to have JARVIS tell him he had a voice message waiting, especially since JARVIS no longer existed, and the message had been from a backup taken the day before Ultron had hit. When Steve had listened to it, he had not expected the fear in Bucky’s voice when he pleaded for Steve to give up his search. “I can’t risk you being near me,” Bucky had claimed. “I have no idea what they programmed me to do if you’re too close. I’m not safe, and you turning over all of the HYDRA rocks to find me is not helping.”

“Thought for sure you’d never quit looking. I know, I know, you haven’t quit; you’re putting it on the back burner until the new Avengers team is up to par.”

Steve owed Sam a huge favor for agreeing to chase a ghost for the better part of a year and risking his life in the process. From the look on Sam’s face, Steve understood his friend was worried he would go back to the hunt for Bucky. “Much as I hate to admit it, I have quit looking. If Bucky doesn’t want me to find him, I have to respect his wishes.”

Sam nodded in understanding and changed the subject. “Is Hawkeye’s farm a secret?”

“Natasha, Thor, Tony, Bruce, and I know where it is,” Steve said. “Clint took us there when we were dealing with the public backlash against what we did in South Africa. Only Natasha knew Clint had a family.” Steve smiled crookedly. “It was a surprise. Clint said he made a deal with Nick Fury to keep his family and their location off SHIELD’s books. Oh, and Wanda knows, but largely because she read Natasha’s mind.”

“So yes,” Sam interpreted. “No, don’t tell me,” he said, holding up a hand when Steve opened his mouth. “If Clint made the effort to keep it secret, I should be one less person who knows.” He studied Steve a moment. “I may not know him like you do but I wouldn’t object if he showed up occasionally. Guy with the balls to use a bow and arrow in modern combat is a guy I’d like to get to know better.”

“Thanks, Sam. I’ll tell him,” Steve said and smiled. He put on his leather jacket, picked up the bag and his motorcycle helmet, and moved towards the door. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Eight hours, one stop at a diner for lunch, and one massive, confusing, and frustrating detour due to road construction later, Steve arrived on the farm. Stumbling off the motorcycle with none of his usual finesse, Steve barely managed to stand upright. As it was, he opted not to hang his helmet on his handlebar; he did not trust his coordination. Taking a deliberate breath, he forced himself to walk up the stairs to the porch, where Clint and Laura waited.

“Steve, are you okay?” Laura asked, concerned.

“Just tired,” Steve answered, but Clint shook his head.

“That’s more than tired,” Clint declared. “Come on, Steve, you’re coming with me.”

Startled by Clint’s commanding tone, Steve made no protest as the other man hustled him upstairs to the master bath, which had a shower stall wide enough for both.

“No arguments, Steve,” Clint told him as he took off his clothes. “You’re getting pampered, which means you’re getting your very own bath attendant, namely me.”

“Which means?” Steve asked warily as Clint helped him out of his clothes.

“Means you let me wash you everywhere, and you stand there and let me handle you while I do it,” Clint said. “Unless you want to stand there under the spray and call it good enough and then fall asleep in your mashed potatoes.”

The supersoldier serum healed everything, but it did not take away the memory of being saddle-sore. Nor did it take away the lingering frustration of knowing a five-hour trip took three hours longer than it should have. Steve looked at Clint, who waited patiently while he worked through his knee-jerk reaction of wanting to remain independent.

“I don’t mean it in a ‘you can’t take care of yourself’ way,” Clint added. “It means I know you’re about fifteen minutes away from falling over. Given the look on your face, you’d probably fall over in the guest room, not wanting to be a bother to us. I’d like to make sure you get in bed clean, so Laura and I can snuggle you.”

Unable to come up with a suitable counterargument, Steve closed his eyes briefly and surrendered. He stepped into the shower, adjusted it to his preferred temperature, and reached for Clint. “I’m yours.”

Clint took the shower head and began by making sure Steve was wet. He massaged Steve’s scalp as he shampooed his hair, then coaxed Steve into ducking so he could rinse his hair. Clint then took a wash cloth and lathered it with soap. His strokes as he scrubbed Steve’s body were gentle and thorough but impersonal and efficient, as if aware Steve’s ability to remain standing was limited. Clint even helped Steve step out of the shower and then rubbed him dry with a big, fluffy towel. Steve had rarely been so pampered in his life, and his heart tumbled straight into love.

“Sorry, I’m not up for much,” Steve murmured. “Want you and Laura.”

After hastily drying himself off, Clint guided Steve into bed. “Sleep,” he said, kissing him. “Worry about sex later. You’re here and in one piece; that’s what matters.” Clint slid into bed and pulled Steve into his arms. 

Reassured by Clint’s efforts, Steve closed his eyes and slept.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint came downstairs ten minutes later, dressed in a pair of sleep pants and a t-shirt. Steve had barely stirred when Clint carefully disentangled himself and left the bed. Laura sat on the couch, an e-reader in her hand.

“When’s the last time you saw him like that?” Laura asked worriedly, setting the e-reader aside on the end table.

“Last year,” Clint said. “He and Sam were looking for Bucky Barnes and Steve asked me to help out. Both were exhausted, but Steve looked like he was running on hope and fumes. Sam was on the edge of being really sick. I think that’s when Steve decided he was going to take a break from looking for his best friend.” Clint looked at his wife. “I was getting worried he was obsessing. I mean, we’re talking about a guy who singlehandedly attacked a HYDRA base to rescue Bucky back in the ‘40’s. The fact he managed to liberate as many prisoners and return with critical intel and equipment was a side effect, not an intention. Steve and Sam attacked twenty HYDRA locations last year with minimal intel, support, and weapons, trying to find where Bucky might have gone.”

“Do you think Steve loves Bucky?” Laura asked.

Clint snorted. “It’s not a question of ‘if’, Laura; it’s more of a given.”

Laura rose and embraced her husband. “No, I meant like a lover.”

“Steve said Bucky turned him down, back before the war,” Clint replied. “Probably was worried about consequences and fallout. If they ever reunited – my bet is Bucky would still turn him down, citing all the damage he’s lived through, and claiming Steve could do better.” Clint leaned in and kissed his wife. “All it means as far as I’m concerned is that we have the opportunity to be that better thing for Steve.”

Chuckling, Laura said wryly, “You said that about Natasha, too.”

“I was right, wasn’t I?” Clint said, unashamed. “And admit it, you like knowing a former Russian assassin goes absolutely melty when Lila and Cooper call her ‘aunt.’”

Laura shook her head. “You’re incorrigible.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Clint said, wide-eyed and faking an innocence he had not had in decades. “You love me for it.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t point it out,” Laura said with a chuckle and stepped out of their embrace to walk into the kitchen to stir the contents of the crockpot.

“I’ll wake Steve in two hours; that should be enough to get him recharged.”

Laura nodded. “The chicken and dumplings will be done by then, so he can eat and go back to sleep if he wants.” She replaced the lid. “Do you need me for anything?”

Clint said, “No, I was going to check in with Natasha, find out why Steve was so worn out.”

“In that case, I’ll go find where Cooper and Lila went; they should be back inside by now.”

“They were playing in the field I use to land jets, last I saw,” Clint offered. Laura nodded and headed outside to get their children.

Clint picked up his phone and texted Natasha. _What the hell happened this week?_

Natasha called him back a few minutes later. “A bad mission,” she said. “Sloppy intel, our contact was a double agent, and we were underprepared. If Steve had slower reflexes and Wanda was not a mind reader, we would have been worse off. As it was, the local police and FBI were not pleased we revealed they had bad apples. Steve made it clear he won’t take the blame for their incompetence, and some people’s feathers got ruffled.” She paused. “Is he with you?”

“Yes,” Clint said.

Natasha let out a relieved sigh. “Good. I told Sam to keep an eye on him, but Sam won’t always push. He said he trusts Steve to understand what his limits are.”

Dryly, Clint replied, “I’m sure Steve does, but he’ll push past them anyway.”

“Do you need me there?” Natasha asked, concerned.

“No, he’s sleeping. We’ll feed, water, and hug him, no worries. We’ll take good care of him.”

She chuckled softly. “I’m sure you will,” she said, her voice warm. “Just remember, Clint, if something happens to you, Laura, or the kids, I can’t think of someone who’ll hold him back from storming the world to find you or exact vengeance. I certainly wouldn’t.”

“Maybe Bucky,” Clint half-joked.

Natasha snorted. “I wouldn’t count on him yet.” She paused. Warily, she asked, “When you said, ‘take care of him,’ does that involve sex? Because I don’t think Steve is that experienced with men.”

“Afraid I’m corrupting Captain America?” Clint drawled, annoyed she was questioning his motives. Natasha had been his best friend and combat partner for the better part of a decade, and he considered himself privileged to know her as well as he did. That meant, however, he did not appreciate being the target of her suspicion.

“Are you?” Natasha countered.

“No,” Clint replied evenly. From the tone of her voice, she was fishing for information to confirm something she had suspected to be true.

“Is he over Peggy?” Natasha asked.

“I’m not jealous he loved a kickass woman, and I don’t think that’s the kind of love you ever ‘get over,’ especially since she’s not dead yet and neither is he.” Clint kept his voice even, unwilling to let Natasha turn something Clint admired into something ugly. Steve loving Peggy Carter was the stuff of romantic legends. Clint had loved the same woman for two decades; he hoped to love Laura for as long as Steve had Peggy. “That would be petty, childish, mean, and the fastest way to make sure I got on Steve’s bad side. Are you still upset Bruce hasn’t come back from wherever he’s gone?”

“Leave Bruce out of this,” Natasha warned.

“Then stop acting like you don’t trust my judgement or Steve’s,” Clint shot back.

“Sorry, I – I worry about you both,” Natasha said, her voice softening.

“I get that,” Clint said gently. “Believe me, I appreciate it, and I’m sure Steve does too. But we’re consenting adults, Natasha, and so is Laura. Nobody is forcing anyone to do anything they don’t want to do.”

“And therefore, I get to be the one to point out all the ways this could blow up in your face,” Natasha replied.

“Noted,” Clint said, aware her paranoia often outweighed his. “But like I told you when you were the one in my bed: whatever happens next, we’ll deal with it like the friends we are already are.”

Unable to counter that, Natasha sighed. “That means you’re not his first guy. No wonder he didn’t seem interested in any of the women I suggested. Or is he only interested in Laura?”

Annoyed she was not letting the subject rest, Clint snapped, “That’s between Steve, Laura, and I. What I _will_ tell you is that Steve had a very long, frustrating ride down here, and he is currently sleeping. Laura and I plan to make sure he gets some rest, plenty of good food, and some family time. I might ask him if he’s willing to help me with putting together some furniture for Lila, since she’s getting big enough to need a proper bed.” Clint paused. “Anything beyond that is private, just like whatever you did with Bruce is. I never asked you for details, even though I could have said you were playing with a guy who is _always_ angry and never trusts anyone wants him for him. I didn’t ask you if you knew what you were doing with him.”

Natasha blew out a breath. “No, you didn’t. I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

“Yes, you were,” Clint agreed. “I take it that mission didn’t go the way you wanted, either?”

Ruefully, Natasha said, “No. Our FBI contact was the one who was a double agent, and he had the audacity to ask me if I was the Avengers’ second-in-command because I was fucking Captain America. He then doubled down and asked if we had a multiracial group because of EEO.”

“Did you enjoy making him regret what he said?

“He screamed when I stung him and tried to apologize.”

Clint chuckled. He knew exactly how painful Natasha’s Widow’s Bites were, having deliberately trained with them. “Who else annoyed you?”

Natasha sighed. “The group we were after was planning to bomb a mosque that was a storefront in a strip mall, right next to daycare. A few of the local cops without confirmed ties to the group made statements that sounded like they were willing to look the other way. Wanda said they had bullied the more upstanding police officers on the force and gotten their hands slapped but not anything more serious.”

Clint grimaced. He had met the type, worked with more than a few of them in SHIELD, and knew Natasha had zero patience for them. “Good thing you were there to set them all straight.”

“Hopefully they won’t revert to what the status quo had been. Steve and Rhodey were furious it had gotten so bad, but enough of that.” Briskly, Natasha said, “Tell Steve he doesn’t have to rush back; I can take care of training on Monday. Will you ask him to text me to confirm when he’s headed back?”

Clint smiled as he heard the implict apology. “Will do.” Clint disconnected the call.

“Clint, can you give me a hand?” Laura called. “No, Cooper, you’re not tracking mud through the house! Stop right there! You too, Lila!”

Clint stepped out to the porch to see his children had been playing in mud. With a sigh, he went to get the garden hose, certain the next two hours would be consumed with making sure his children were clean, their clothes dumped into the wash, and then he and Laura would have to make sure they were clean as well.

Once Lila and Cooper were their pajamas and settled in front of the TV, Clint went to check on Steve. Amused by the thought of Steve as Sleeping Beauty, Clint kissed him awake.

Steve sighed into the kiss and whimpered when Clint moved away. His eyes fluttered open as he looked at Clint. “I thought I was dreaming,” Steve said.

Clint grinned. “Nope. Time for dinner. Laura made chicken and dumplings.”

“Sounds delicious,” Steve said. “But I need clothes.”

Clint smiled and handed him his backpack. “Much as I’d love to see you naked all the time, I don’t want to shock our kids.”

“No, that would not be a good thing,” Steve agreed as he rose out of bed and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, figuring he would not need anything more for the rest of the evening.

“Did you ride through rain?” Clint asked as he moved to the doorway.

“For an hour,” Steve said sourly. “I thought I’d put enough wax on my leather jacket to make it waterproof.”

“When’s the last time you applied it?”

Steve frowned. “Last year?” He winced as he calculated the time. “I didn’t think I needed to do it again. Damn.”

“Easy enough thing to forget,” Clint acknowledged. “I hate the smell of wet leather, so I’m always making sure I have waterproofing on my leather.” He paused. “Besides the rain, what made you late?”

“Road construction detour. I got lost, found my way out, and ran into another stretch of detours due to road construction. Wasn’t able to get a signal so I couldn’t call you.”

“Welcome to summer in Pennsylvania,” Clint said dryly. “It’s road construction season.”

Steve chuckled. “So I noticed.” He stepped closer and kissed Clint sweetly. “Thanks for making sure I got clean and in bed without tripping over anything.”

Clint smiled. “You’re welcome. I haven’t seen you like that since last year; have you been getting enough sleep this week?”

Steve shook his head. “Not really. You know how missions go; you never sleep deep, and then when it’s over, your brain wants to rewind everything that happened.”

Clint kissed him and hugged him. “Yeah. No wonder you crashed when you got here; you’ve been on fumes this week.”

“Before we go downstairs,” Steve began, “I was wondering — in one of Laura’s texts yesterday she said she felt bad about this farm not being actually farmed. I didn’t read it until this morning and I figured it would be easier to ask you about it when I got here. Why isn’t it?”

“We tried the first two years we owned this place and realized we weren’t able to keep up. We had a tenant farmer use the land for six years, but he died, and his heirs didn’t want to deal. Laura and I talked it over and decided that if I was going to be landing quinjets here, it would be easier if we let the land lay fallow and not have to worry about security so much.”

“Makes sense,” Steve said. “Was this Laura’s farm?”

“No, but her grandparents owned one in Kentucky; Laura’s father sold the land to low-income housing developers when Laura was ten because he didn’t want to deal with Monsanto. Told Laura he’d rather see homes built for the poor than have a greedy multinational corporation poison the land with experimental crops. Even wrote a clause into the sale that said it had to be used for low-income housing.”

Steve whistled softly. “And was it?”

“Yeah,” Clint said, nodding. “Laura has this dream of making this land productive and create a legacy for our kids, but I don’t have that kind of money, and she can’t take that kind of stress. I saw what happened when we did try; I want to avoid repeating that experience. She thinks we can, especially now that I’ve retired, but —” Clint shook his head. “I’m not willing to do it. She had to go on anxiety medications back then and that was not fun for either of us.”

Steve hesitated. “Is there anything I can do?”

Clint kissed him. “No. I just have to remind her when she starts getting wistful for a productive farm that we lost money we could barely afford.” Clint smiled. “Come on; we didn’t tell Cooper and Lila you were coming.”

Cooper and Lila were excited to find Steve back with them and engaged him in conversation as soon as he sat down to dinner. Clint loved that Steve treated Lila and Cooper as children with something worth listening to and gave them his full attention. Steve also deferred to Clint and Laura’s role as parents, never assuming he had permission to do something for or with the children, which Clint also appreciated.

Once the kids were in bed, and all three adults were in the master bedroom, Steve was a little nervous. He hesitated at the edge of the bed, unsure.

“Whatever you want, just tell us,” Clint said reassuringly. “I know you’ve been tired. If you want to go back to sleep with both of us holding you, that’s fine. Anything more is bonus.”

Steve nodded and took a deep breath. “I’ve wanted to be with you both all week; not going to pass up this time.”

He moved to where Laura sat on the bed, waiting, and kissed her. “You mentioned wanting to be in the middle next time?” he asked her. “You up for that?”

Laura kissed him. “Yes, if you go slow.” She added wryly, “But not too slow. Nathaniel is likely to interrupt us.”

“Maybe we should wait until you won’t be so distracted,” Steve suggested.

Laura shook her head. “If it’s not Nathaniel, it’ll be Lila or Cooper,” she said. “But we can compromise. I’m not sure I’m up to what I really want, which is you in my cunt and Clint in my ass.”

Steve’s eyes widened at her frank language, but he was willing to follow her lead. “Your choice,” he told her.

“Scoot to the head of the bed,” Laura directed, “and sit facing me.”

Steve did as she requested as she took the condom Clint handed her. Laura braced herself over Steve on hands and knees, with her ass towards Clint. Laura’s hair brushed Steve’s thighs as she bent to apply the condom, then followed her hands with her mouth. The combination of light suction, the heat of her mouth, her soft hair moving slowly closer to Steve’s abdomen with each stroke was almost more than he could bear. Laura did not take his entire cock into her mouth, but she paid loving attention to the shaft, licking and flicking it with her tongue. Heat flooded through Steve, and he carefully thrust upward. Laura responded by taking him a bit deeper.

He risked looking over her back to discover what her husband was doing. Clint kissed a trail down Laura’s spine before he moved downward. The sight sent a thrill rushing through Steve as he realized what Clint intended to do.

Laura moaned around Steve’s shaft, bringing his attention back to what she was doing to his cock. From the sounds he was hearing, Steve surmised Clint was tasting his wife, getting her ready to take his cock. It wasn’t long before Laura whimpered around Steve’s cock as Clint sent her to her first orgasm of the night. Then Clint sat up and put his cock into Laura’s cunt. He kept going in and out of her slowly at first, with long strokes that kept Laura writhing, trying to get him in deeper.

“Yeah, love, take my cock, you’re so good at it,” Clint told Laura encouragingly. “Or do you want Steve in you? You got me all revved up last night, talking about how you wanted him in you.”

Laura made an unintelligible noise around Steve’s cock, but Steve did not need to understand what she said to realize what Clint had said was making her intensify her actions on him, as if Laura was trying not to split her attention too much.

“You got him in your mouth now,” Clint continued. “You gonna make him come?”

Steve’s eyes widened as he realized Clint was deliberately inciting Laura and that the dirty talk fired up her arousal. Laura was shuddering, trying to focus as she stroked and sucked Steve’s cock. She had a third of his cock in her mouth, and he thrust up carefully, not wanting to hurt her, but the heat and suction she was using all too quickly sent Steve to his orgasm. Laura flashed him a smile as she lifted her head. Steve kissed her, ignoring the taste of latex; she returned the kiss enthusiastically, breaking it only to breathe heavily.

“Ready, love?” Clint asked her.

Laura nodded. Steve watched as Clint began to thrust more rapidly into Laura. Not wanting her to think he was ignoring her, Steve leaned forward and kissed her some more as he stroked her breasts.

With a whimper, Laura broke the kiss and leaned her head on Steve’s shoulder. “God, so good,” she panted. “Gonna show Steve, uh, how you make me come?”

Clint shot Steve a grin that reflected his own rising pleasure even as he continued his thrusts. “Oh, yeah, he’s taking notes, aren’t you, Steve?”

In reply, Steve stroked her body, everywhere he could reach. “So beautiful,” he told her. “Loved your mouth on me. Give me a few minutes and you can have me after Clint’s done.”

Laura moaned and shuddered again, triggering Clint’s orgasm. Clint stayed still for a moment before carefully moving off the bed and removing the condom he had used. Laura helped Steve with his condom before replacing it with a new one. “Want you,” she said, kissing him.

Steve slid down the bed, willing to let her lead once more. He was already more than half-hard. Clint lay beside him, kissing him and stroking him to full hardness. Laura eased herself onto Steve’s cock. She was short enough that Steve had to sit up slightly to kiss her, almost dislodging her, and she shook her head when he tried again.

“Gonna ride you,” she announced. “You have the hard part: you have to lie there, kiss Clint, and let me.”

Steve looked at Clint, who only smiled and began to kiss him as Laura moved. Steve lifted his hips to meet her downward movements; Laura responded by grinding down on him and moving rapidly. He put his hands on her hips to help her balance as she rode him. Laura was tight and wet around him, making Steve crave even more of her even as he tried to stave off his orgasm, so she would come before he did.

“So good, you feel so good, Steve,” Laura panted. “Love you in me.” Her words inflamed Steve. He was used to quieter lovers who did not narrate their experience, and knowing Laura was quiet and demure in public added a level of unexpected spice. Steve could not focus on what she was saying, though. The sensations coursing through him were too many for a single thing to be dominant.

Clint’s kisses sent fire through Steve, their tongues dueling and making Steve want to suck Clint off, but it would be a while before Clint was hard again. Having him near was an intoxication as it was. Clint’s hands were not still, either; he was stroking Steve’s nipples, making them ache. Steve could hear Laura breathing heavily as she moved with him, trying to crest passion’s peak. The combination of both of his lovers was a heady sensation, and Steve lost himself in it.

Clint broke their kiss to tell Laura, “That’s it, love; you look so good on Steve’s cock.” Clint then reached over to stroke Laura’s clit and Steve’s balls.

Laura shuddered at Clint’s words and the knowing touch on her clit, her mouth falling open in a wordless cry as she orgasmed. The pleasure on her face as she tightened around him, combined with Clint’s fingers massaging his balls, caused Steve to orgasm hard, thrusting up in stuttering pattern, groaning as he did so.

For a long moment, no one moved. Steve kissed Laura, then Clint, before carefully disengaged from Laura, mindful of the condom. He left the bed to dispose of it in the nearby trashcan; Laura and Clint rolled toward each other. Steve hid a smile as he saw them kissing tenderly. Noticing he had managed to accidentally get some sperm on his hand, Steve stepped into the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back, they were still in the center of the bed, kissing as if they could not get enough of each other. Laura had her hand on Clint’s cock, stroking him.

He was about to say something when Nathaniel’s cry sounded through the baby monitor.

Laura made a face as she broke off kissing. “Promissory note for later?” she asked her husband.

“Always, love,” Clint promised, letting her go.

“Told you,” Laura said to Steve as she moved, putting on a robe. She kissed Steve on her way out of the room, patted him on the ass, and grinned at his look of surprise.

Steve joined Clint in the bed. Clint opened his arms and pulled him in close. “Besides the rain, the road construction, a crappy mission, is there anything else on your mind?”

Steve laughed, too sated by sex to care why he had crashed so hard. “Is this your idea of pillow talk?”

“Well, neither of us are going to sleep soon,” Clint pointed out. “Unless you want to do something else?”

“Seems to me Laura got your motor going,” Steve pointed out. “Want me to finish what she started?”

“Oh yeah,” Clint agreed, leaning up to kiss him. “Want you in me. Only fair since Laura got to.” Clint grinned wickedly.

Amused, Steve moved to fulfill Clint’s request. It was a long time before either man had the brain power to think of anything beyond the pleasure they could find in each other’s arms.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve woke to find Laura, dressed in the button-down nightgown he remembered from his last visit, curled against him. Reluctant to leave the bed, he wallowed in the feel of her body against his before giving in to the need to get up and use the toilet. A glance at the time on the clock in the ensuite bathroom told him it was about the time Laura napped in the morning, so he washed his hands, dressed, and headed downstairs.

He found Cooper and Lila watching animated cartoons on the TV in the living room. The table in the kitchen held a large box of breakfast cereal; the sink held two bowls and two spoons. Lila had a plastic crown on her head and was wearing a yellow dress over jeans. Cooper wore a purple t-shirt with a tiny Avengers logo and jeans.

“I’m a princess today,” Lila announced.

“Of nowhere,” Cooper sneered in the way of older siblings everywhere.

“Where’s your dad?” Steve asked the children, interrupting what he suspected would be a fight.

“On the porch, on the phone,” Cooper volunteered. “We’re supposed to stay here and not bother Mom.”

“Are you going to watch TV with us?” Lila asked.

“Maybe, after I eat breakfast,” Steve told her, unsure if Clint would need his help with something.

“I ate yogurt,” Cooper told him. “I like it with my cereal. It doesn’t get so wet.”

“I like it that way too,” Steve replied.

He found the container of plain Greek yogurt in the fridge and made a bowl of yogurt and cereal. Though he did not make a habit of eavesdropping, the curse of his serum-enhanced hearing meant he could hear Clint repeatedly refusing someone, though Steve could not hear the rest of the conversation.

He had just put the empty bowl in the dishwasher when Clint entered the house, looking frustrated.

“Problem?” Steve asked.

Clint shook his head. “Not anything you can fix,” he said. At Steve’s inquiring look, he elaborated, “Someone Laura and I used to call friend. Julie is always broke, and I can always tell when she’s between sugar daddies because she calls me. When she’s riding high, she calls Laura to tell her she should leave me and go with her to Paris, to Dubai, to Hong Kong, and live it up with her.”

“I see,” Steve said. “Why don’t you block her number?”

“Because she changes them regularly,” Clint said dryly. “I’m going to have to break down and change ours because I don’t need her drama. Did you get enough to eat?”

“Yes, thanks,” Steve replied before he kissed Clint.

Clint purred. “Now, I feel better.”

“Daddy, Steve said he’d watch cartoons with us,” Lila said, running into the kitchen to tug on Clint’s pants.

“Did you now?” Clint asked Steve, amused. He glanced at the TV and saw the episode was over. “Didn’t you tell me you would go play outside?”

“But Steve’s here,” Lila protested.

“All day,” Steve inserted, suspecting the little girl wanted his attention.

“Cooper, take your sister and go play outside,” Clint interceded.

He waited for his children to exit house before he took advantage of their relative privacy to kiss Steve good morning. “Hi. Did you sleep well?”

Steve nodded. “Laura was still sleeping when I got up. Did I miss an alarm?”

“No, we didn’t think you needed to wake up at o’dark early. As for rest-of-the-day plans: I thought we could chase the kids around the yard for a while and see if we could wear them out.”

Steve grinned. “I’m game if you are.”

“I’ll warn you now: kids are energy vampires and they use it to charge their batteries,” Clint said.

Steve raised an eyebrow and said, “Ten bucks says they can’t wear me out.”

Clint kissed him. “See, this is where you forget: they’re _my_ kids.” He stepped out to the porch, Steve in his wake, and turned his attention to Cooper and Lila, who were seated at the picnic table in the front yard. “Okay, kids, Uncle Steve wants to see if you can wear him out. Let’s play hide and seek!”

Three hours later, Steve had to concede he had not counted on how energetic Cooper and Lila were or that Cooper had learned how to sneak up on someone. Seeing that Steve was not yet tired, Clint gathered his kids in the storage building next to the empty quinjet landing field and held a hasty conference.

Steve knew Clint, Cooper, and Lila had gone somewhere, but he was not sure where. Heading northeast from the yard, he thought he heard something near the quinjet landing field.

Abruptly, three Nerf gun projectiles hit him. He looked over to see Lila holding a pink nerf gun bow, and had to hide a smile. She looked like a tiny, fierce warrior.

Lila dashed out of the storage building that bordered the field and ran into him, shouting, “Got you!”

Laughing, Steve picked her up. “So you did. But now I have you.”

“Put me down, Uncle Steve! We have to go get Cooper and Daddy!”

He bent down to do so, only to be attacked from behind by another set of nerf gun projectiles. He looked to see Cooper with a Nerf gun that looked too big for an eight-year-old’s hands. Cooper held it expertly, though, and looked smug.

“I got you!"

“Oh no,” Steve cried in mock fright, “a double-attack!” He dropped to the ground and splayed out, as if dead.

Cooper ran over to join his sister. “We won,” he declared.

Steve sat up, hearing Clint approach. “Arming children?” he asked Clint.

Clint grinned. “Got you on the ground, didn’t it? Besides, they only get to play with these if Laura or I are around to watch. Anything more dangerous is locked up and they know better than to touch that cabinet. Been teaching that since Cooper was four. Right, kids?”

“Daddy’s weapons cabinet is not for me or Lila or any of our friends,” Cooper recited, sounding as if he had heard the lecture for years. He held up the Nerf gun he used. “This is but only with Mom’s or Dad’s permission.”

“I don’t touch Daddy’s cabinet because that’s Daddy’s, not mine. I’m gonna tell Nathaniel when he’s older so he knows too,” Lila told Steve, her chin lifting with pride at the thought of having that responsibility. “Daddy got me a Nerf bow,” she added, climbing into his lap, stabbing him with said bow. “Just like his and Princess Merida’s.” She yawned.

“I don’t want a bow,” Cooper said. “I want a jet. I want to be a pilot.”

Steve looked up at Clint. “Yeah, they’re your kids.”

Clint spread his arms wide. “Warned you.”

“Uncle Steve, can you carry me, please?” Lila asked.

“Let me up first,” Steve bargained.

Clint picked up the Nerf gun ammo with Cooper’s help as Steve lifted Lila. “We’ll head in for lunch,” he told Steve. “Let me put these Nerf weapons in the storage building and I’ll meet you at the house. Cooper, did you want to go with me or Uncle Steve?”

“Uncle Steve,” Cooper decided. He looked at Steve. “Can you carry both of us, please?”

Amused, Steve granted Cooper’s wish.

After lunch, Cooper and Lila wanted to read books in the living room, so Clint took advantage of their preoccupation to pull Steve into still-unfinished sun room.

“Are we working on this?” Steve asked.

Clint shook his head. “I need to file the permit for the building, so not yet. I wanted to ask you – if someone other than Natasha and Wanda asks if you’re involved with someone, please not mention Laura?”

Steve frowned. “Why?”

“Trust me, it’ll be easier for you to claim me as your lover,” Clint insisted.

“I’m not ashamed of you – either of you,” Steve began.

“But I need to keep Laura and the kids safe,” Clint countered. “Laura is not associated with Hawkeye. I’d like to keep it that way, for as long as I can. Our marriage record is sealed; nobody can access it without a court order. I’d rather have to deal with the fallout of being accused of turning you gay than exposing them. Here in this village, people recognize us, but I’m Laura’s husband, not an Avenger.”

Steve stared at him, uncomfortable with the notion, though he could understand the advantages. “You realize you’re only delaying the truth, and someone determined enough can put the pieces together.”

Clint blew out a breath, nodding. “But having seen what a media circus you can generate –”

Steve grimaced as he remembered how, after the Battle of Manhattan, the paparazzi had followed him anytime he left the Avengers Tower, how the mere act of him showing up in certain restaurants and shops had resulted in chaos before Pepper had helped him figure out how to deal with the unrelenting attention by being utterly un-newsworthy . “I don’t like it,” he told Clint, stepping closer to hold him.

“I know,” Clint said apologetically. “If you will be here most weekends – which Laura and I would love – people will notice, and you work with people who will notice shit like that.”

“I don’t think Sam will judge,” Steve offered. “He already figured out I’m bisexual. I can’t imagine Rhodey will have much to say either – he’s been around Tony since they were in college.”

Clint considered that. “Yes, but that brief time I met him, he was going on about how awesome and nice you are. He’s bought into your media kit bigtime.”

Steve made a face. “Not so much now we’ve been training together. He told me yesterday nobody warned him I was so intense.”

Clint chuckled. “All right, so I’ll leave that to your judgment,” he compromised. “But outside the team –”

“I promise I won’t tell them I’m with your wife,” Steve assured him, and kissed him. The conversation reminded Steve of something he had thought of while they were playing with Cooper and Lila. “I should’ve asked before, but I take it you don’t care if Cooper and Lila see me kissing you or Laura?”

Clint shook his head. “No. Cooper asked me about you earlier this week. Guess he saw me kissing you goodbye. He asked me if I loved you like I love his mom, and I said no, but I cared about you a lot. I said I only kiss people like that who are very special to me and his mom.”

Steve looked at him. “Did he accept that?”

Clint smiled. “In his way, yes. He told me he thinks the way us grownups kiss is weird and made a fish face. For Cooper, that’s about as good as acceptance gets.”

Steve smothered a laugh. “You don’t think he’ll tell his friends?”

“Not worried about it,” Clint countered. “As long as he knows he’s loved, and he sees you as caring for him, his siblings, and me and Laura, I don’t think he’ll have anything really to say. Same thing with Lila.”

Steve was not entirely convinced, but he was willing to take his cue from Clint.

* * *

The weekend passed all too quickly, and even with an extra evening to spend with Laura and Clint, it had not been enough time. He had not yet gotten his fill of Clint and Laura, not yet sated of their desire for him. He was more than halfway in love with Clint and surmised his feelings for Laura were not that far behind. Though he had not spent a lot of time around children, Steve enjoyed being around the older Barton children. Lila had inherited Clint’s boldness; her brother, Laura’s quiet certainty. Steve wondered who Nathaniel would most resemble.

Feeling like he had left something important behind, Steve arrived home in the late afternoon on Monday. He texted Clint and Laura that he had arrived home before leaving the garage.

 _Miss you already,_ he wrote.

 _You too,_ Clint wrote. _Will we see you Friday?_

_If you don’t mind me getting there around nine or ten pm._

_We’ll leave the light on for you,_ Laura texted.

Pleased by that promise, Steve put his phone in his pocket and headed to his room. He was not surprised to find Natasha waiting for him outside his room.

“Something you want to say?” Steve asked. Clint had warned him Natasha was aware of his involvement with them, so he had been prepared for Natasha to question him. He opened the door to his room, stepped inside, set down his helmet on his desk, and put his backpack on the floor; Natasha followed him.

The room was large for a single-occupant room, with a queen-sized bed, a desk and matching chair, a bookshelf, a club chair, and a freestanding dresser, and enough room that a man of Steve’s build could move between them. It also had its own ensuite toilet, sink, and shower. Steve had tried to make it a little less industrial looking, with a bright green coverlet on the bed and framed art on the walls.

Natasha took the club chair while he pulled off his leather jacket and hung it up on the peg by the door. “I wanted to apologize,” she said.

Taken aback, Steve asked, “For what?”

“For assuming you wouldn’t answer me about who you wanted to date,” Natasha said. “I should’ve just pointed you at Clint.”

“Since you always asked me when we were in the middle of something else, I decided I would stick to the story Captain America is straight,” Steve replied. “And I generally avoid getting involved with people on my team.”

“You made an exception for Peggy,” Natasha pointed out.

Steve shot her a wry look. “Peggy wouldn’t take no for an answer,” he explained. “She said she wasn’t willing to wait for a better time because the war might kill us both before then.” He sat down on the edge of the bed to take off his motorcycle boots. Once he had them off, he picked them up and put them by the door, underneath the pegs where his coats hung. He then turned to Natasha. “And Clint isn’t on the active roster for the Avengers. Are you objecting to something or trying to be a protective friend?”

Startled to have been seen through so clearly, Natasha jerked, then recovered. Her lips curved in a smile as she admitted, “A little of both? I don’t have that many friends and I hate seeing any of them get hurt.”

Steve conceded that with a slight shrug. “I care about Clint and Laura. I told Tony the guy who wanted a stable life, a home and family fell into the ice seventy-five years ago, and a different guy crawled out. I still feel the same, but with Laura and Clint, I’m realizing I could have a little of that and not have to give up what I have here.” He met Natasha’s gaze. “As for what happens next? I don’t pretend to have the answers. All I can do is be me. You took a chance with Bruce. Do you regret it?”

Natasha let out a breath. “Only that I miscalculated how much time we’d have before I would have to deliberately trigger the Hulk.” She looked at Steve. “And how did you learn about me and Bruce?”

“Because you jumped at the chance to share a room with him,” Steve said, moving back to sit on the bed so he could face her. “And you used to make sure you had at least me or Clint between you and him. I figured something was up.” Steve paused as Natasha winced.

“So much for being a master spy,” Natasha murmured. “I was not subtle, was I?”

Steve shook his head. “No, but I’m not sure any of us were up to hiding anything that day. Wanda got into our heads good. I’m glad she’s on our side now.”

Natasha nodded. Then her lips curved into a smile as she asked, “So who was your first kiss after you were deiced?”

“Still not going to kiss and tell, Natasha,” Steve told her, grinning.

“Are you going to tell anyone?” Natasha asked. “You can’t hide it from Wanda; you’re glowing too much. And she’s likely to share with Vision.”

Steve sighed, aware she was pushing him to look at the bigger picture. “I don’t have a name for what I have with Clint and Laura, and I’d rather not dissect it to pieces. All I know is that being with them makes me happy.”

“Then run with that, and trust that none of us will complain that you’re getting laid,” Natasha told him, rising to her feet. “Tease you about it, tell you’re greedy you found two people, et cetera, sure.”

Steve acknowledged that with a wry smile. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

After she left, Steve closed his eyes and let out a breath as he leaned back against his bed. Plans and schedules danced in his head as he figured out how he could get back to the Barton homestead. With the determination that had helped him win most of the battles in which he had fought, Steve forced himself to focus on what he had to do where he was.

Later that week, Steve stopped by Wanda’s quarters.

“Laura mentioned you haven’t been down yet to meet your godson,” Steve began, once he was inside the room. “I’m driving down there on Friday and come back late Sunday. Do you want to come with me?”

Wanda looked at him, startled. “Sure. I was going to ask Natasha but she said I should check with you first.” She frowned. “It is not a problem for me to go there? I know I shouldn’t know where it is but Clint assured me that didn’t matter now.”

“No, it’s not a problem.” He hesitated, suddenly uncertain. For all the time he had spent training her, he could not predict how Wanda’s upbringing, culture, and experience would weigh into her reaction.

Wanda read his nerves and patted the space next to her on the bed. “Come, sit. You are hovering. I dislike it when you hover; it makes me think I did something awful, and you are not the kind of person who holds their tongue if I did something wrong. You know already I do not bite unless ordered.”

Steve sat down, but he chose the guest chair across from her instead. He smiled, nervous, then exhaled. “I’ve been seeing Clint and Laura. And yes, you can read me, because I don’t have the words to say what we are.”

Wanda’s green eyes glowed with red for a moment as she exercised her power. She looked at Steve with a little bit of wonder. “I’m glad you are happy. But this, two people, it is allowed here?”

“Laws stopped no one from having sex,” Steve pointed out. “It goes against the image for Captain America to be anything but straight.”

“You have never been,” Wanda said, her voice certain with knowledge.

He nodded.

She sat back slightly. “I do not think it is fair,” she said, “that people will judge you, call you a cheater, because you are with two people who are married to each other.” Her lips thinned in annoyance. “But you have consent from both Laura and Clint, yes?”

Steve nodded again.

“So why are people are so concerned? You are not hurting them; you’re enjoying yourselves.”

Steve shrugged. “Because people are prudish and nosy?”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Life is too short for that bullshit.” She paused before adding, “I could not do what you’re doing. I would be jealous. Whoever loves me has to love me only.”

Steve looked at her. “You would not be upset if you witnessed me kissing Clint or Laura?”

Wanda shook her head. “No. You deserve a little happiness, Steve; you have given so much and asked for little in return.” She reached over and clasped her hand around his briefly.

In Steve’s head, she said, _And I am sorry I made you see Peggy for the dance you never could have. I did not know until now how much you loved her, only that she mattered._

Steve’s breath caught, and he met Wanda’s gaze. “You are forgiven,” he told her. “You fought Ultron instead of alongside him in the end.”

Her eyes returned to their normal color as she let go of his hand. “Send anyone who gives you grief over who you’re involved with to me,” she half-joked. “But as for visiting Laura and Clint and meeting their children, especially my brother’s namesake – if they will have me visit this weekend, I would love to do so. I will also ask Sam and Rhodey if they will teach me to drive, so I can get there myself.”

“Clint and I could teach you to ride a motorcycle,” Steve offered.

Wanda laughed. “That, I can do already, since Pietro taught me back home, but I don’t know how to drive a car. Besides, it would occupy Sam and Rhodey and hopefully keep them from asking me where you’ve gone.”

“Have they been asking?”

Nodding, Wanda said, “They think Natasha knows something and they assume I read everyone.” Wanda made a face. “I do not make that a habit; they should know that.”

“They should; they were briefed when we started this new team,” Steve said dryly. “But all bets are off when people want to gossip.” He pulled out his cell phone and texted Clint and Laura, asking if it was okay to bring Wanda when he drove down on Friday.

 _Sure,_ Laura replied. _Does she know about us?_

 _Yes,_ Steve texted. _And she’s okay with it._

He got a series of happy emoji’s followed by Clint and Laura simultaneously saying, “Bring her” and “she’s welcome anytime.”

He showed the texts to Wanda, who looked pleased.

“What time did you want me to be ready?”

“1600; I’d like to be there before it gets too late.”

“I’ll be ready. Are we riding your motorcycle?”

“I won’t have to make as many stops for fuel if I do,” Steve said. “I can borrow a car from the motor pool if that would be easier?”

Wanda shook her head. “No. Natasha bought me a motorcycle helmet and jacket when we went shopping, and I am still not used to having a closet full of clothes.”

“Neither am I,” Steve agreed.

It became a habit to drive down on Friday evenings and spend the weekend with Clint and Laura, driving back late Sunday, sometimes early Monday. After the first weekend, Wanda kept her promise, engaging Sam and Rhodey in spending part of their weekends teaching her how to drive. In this way, July blurred into September.


	6. Chapter 6

“Hey, are you staying in town this Labor Day weekend?” Sam asked as he and Steve exited the locker room next to the main training room and stepped into the elevator that led to the residence level of the facility. Sam glanced at Steve’s face and answered his own question. “I’m going with ‘no.’ My mama will be so disappointed you won’t be at her picnic.”

“You didn’t ask?” Steve pointed out.

Sam crossed his arms. “I did, two weeks ago after we went out to dinner, and you said you’d get back to me.”

Steve winced. He had forgotten, too intent on getting back to his quarters so he could indulge in some late-night texting with Clint and Laura.

Sam waved off the apology before Steve could voice it. “Look, I know we spent too much time together last year, attacking HYDRA bases and trying to find Barnes, so I get you not wanting to repeat that. Just tell me her name so I can have an excuse to give to my mama.”

Trapped between wanting to tell his friend the truth and the promise he had made Clint, Steve settled for, “It’s not a ‘her.’”

Sam asked cautiously, “You’re not seeing Bucky on the sly, are you?”

“No,” Steve replied, startled at the conclusion Sam had drawn.

Sam put his hands, palm up. “Hey, you obsessed over him like –”

“– like he was my best friend since we were kids,” Steve finished, “who didn’t deserve to become a weapon of HYDRA.”

Curious now, Sam asked, “Then who?”

“Oh, you know him,” Steve said as he stepped off the elevator and headed down the hall to his quarters, Sam trailing. “You met him last year on our last mission to find Bucky."

Sam stopped following Steve. “WHAT?” he shouted.

Steve left open the door as he picked up the backpack he already had packed. He waited patiently as Sam ran into the room and shut the door. “I thought you said Hawkeye had a wife?!”

“I did, and he does,” Steve confirmed.

Sam glared at Steve. “Please tell me he isn’t cheating on his wife with you.”

“No, she knows.” Steve traded the sneakers he had worn for training for a pair of motorcycle boots.

Sam’s jaw dropped. He took a deep breath before he managed, “She must be one understanding wife.”

Steve smiled, thinking of how ‘understanding’ was an understatement.

Sam studied him, his eyes narrowing. “Oh, fuck me, it’s a ‘them,’” he deduced. “No wonder you’ve been coming back glowing. No, no, don’t apologize, nothing to apologize for, damn.” He whistled softly. “Just – every time I know who you are, you throw me another curve ball. Though to be honest, I wondered if you’d be happy with just one person.”

Startled, Steve asked, “Really?”

“Yeah. You’re not an easy person to have as a friend; you inspire people to be better, and you have high expectations, both of yourself and the people around you. Only makes sense you’d need more than one lover to meet your needs.” Sam patted his shoulder. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Steve sighed in relief; he had feared Sam would not be accepting.

Sam grinned and started for the door. “No, thank you. I won a bet with Rhodey. He thought you were spending your weekends just tooling around the back roads. Tell Hawkeye I said hello and he’d better take care of you, else I’ll fly down and kick his ass.”

“How much was the bet?” Steve asked, hearing the acceptance in Sam’s words.

“$300 to our favorite charity, and if I won, he’d throw in another $300 for the Special Warriors Operation Foundation.”

Steve looked surprised. “Nothing for yourself?”

Sam shook his head. “Nah, we figured if you found out about it, you’d rather we made it a bet that benefited some worthwhile folks. If we were both wrong, we’d split the cost, give it to the USO. Oh man, he will freak.”

“Do me a favor?” Steve asked. “Make sure he understands Clint will kill him if his knowing about Laura and the kids hurts them in any way? Provided Natasha or I don’t get to him first? And that goes for you, too.”

Hand on the door knob, Sam turned and met Steve’s eyes. “Does Rhodey know about the farm?”

“Only if Tony told him,” Steve said. “From what Rhodey’s said, it sounds like what Tony shares with him is a fraction of what I’d share with my best friend.”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, I got that impression too. He was complaining about finding out things after the fact.”

“Tony and I agreed to leave the Barton’s farm as an ‘undisclosed safe house’ in our report to Maria Hill.”

“Then I won’t tell Rhodey who it is you’re seeing, only that you have someone, and if he wants to know, he can ask you. See you on Tuesday.” Sam opened the door and exited.

“Thanks, Sam. See you Tuesday.”

* * *

“Clint, you promised,” Laura stated as Clint looked out the window of the bedroom, night vision binoculars in hand. “You said you would not do this.”

“Do what?” Clint frowned and checked his watch; Steve was due any minute. The rural road to the farm was mostly gravel and not well-lit. “Obsess over Steve showing up before 9 PM?”

“No, fall in love with him.”

Clint set the binoculars down on the desk that sat in front of the window, hearing a slightly accusatory tone in his wife’s words. “I told you a long time ago I couldn’t promise you I wouldn’t fall in love with someone else. That’s one promise I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep,” Clint countered. Rising from the chair in which he had been sitting, Clint turned away from the window to step closer. “What I promised you is that you are my primary person; you are first in my heart. I vowed I would love you through the best and worst life has to offer. Have I ever broken that?”

“No,” Laura acknowledged.

“I have always loved you, Laura, and my heart’s big enough for me to love more than one person. My love for Steve – or anyone else – is not so encompassing that I want you or love you less.” He took his hands in hers. “That’s never been a problem before. What are you scared of?”

Laura looked away briefly, her mouth compressing in a thin line. “I don’t know how you do this, Clint. I don’t know how you can love me and Steve and act like nothing’s different.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “What do you expect me to do?”

“Don’t you know he’s not –” Her breath caught. “He won’t walk away from a fight. How much longer is he going to be okay with seeing us before he goes to fight and doesn’t want to be around us anymore? Before he wants someone closer to his work, someone he can fuck without having to drive hours to see?”

Sighing mentally, Clint stepped closer and took his wife in his arms. “Hey. Remember when you asked me how much longer I thought Natasha would be happy with being my lover? Remember what I said? I told you I didn’t care how long it was; I wouldn’t regret it.”

Laura met his gaze anxiously. “You still love her.”

“Yeah, I do, but it’s different now. We’re not the same people we were. I don’t want Natasha that way now, and I don’t love her that way either.” He studied his wife. Since Laura was not as sexually driven as he was, she was pickier and less casual about with whom she became involved. Inevitably, that also meant she fell for the men she chose, with often unpleasant results. Consequently, Laura came up with reasons to justify why she could love no one other than Clint, hoping to protect her heart.

Gently, Clint asked, “Laura, are you in love with Steve?”

Laura flushed guiltily. “I keep telling myself it’s too soon, but I remember it’s been all summer, and he’s been here most weekends.”

“And you’re afraid he will be hurt the way I’ve been? Or he’ll break your heart?”

Laura nodded.

“Love, he’s survived things that would kill most people. I worry he’ll outlive all of his friends and will have to figure out how to get to Asgard so he can be around someone who’s already lived centuries.” Clint paused. “I don’t want you to regret loving him, Laura. I don’t. Whatever happens – if he breaks both of our hearts and says he doesn’t love us that way, I’ll still be here with you, loving you. I don’t want to pressure him into any commitments he’s not ready to make, but I also don’t want to tell you to not tell him.” Clint kissed her. “I love you, and whatever you decide, love, I’m right there with you.”

Laura returned the kiss, then leaned her head against Clint’s chest before she lifted her head and met his concerned gaze. “What do you want?”

“I want him in our lives,” Clint said. “I want to keep making our house a place he can come home to, even when things get crazy. If that means someday he follows Natasha’s lead and tells us no more fun sex, I’m okay that. But I’m hoping that’s someday way off, not soon. Until then, I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.” He paused. “What do you want?”

Laura ducked her head. “For Steve to be someone he’s not,” she admitted ruefully. “But then I remember what happened with Tim.”

Clint made a face. Tim had been a connection they had made through a polyamorous group online. He had been a vendor representative for a commercial HVAC equipment supplier; Clint had thought him to be pleasant, good looking, and personable, if a tad bit forgettable. Clint had also thought Tim might be a good foil for himself – someone a little more stable, doing an average-Joe sort of job, who might be more able to be there for Laura when Clint could not be thanks to his job.

Tim had turned out to be an overeager puppy, besotted with Laura as soon as they met, and considered sex his primary form of exercise. Tim had demanded more of Laura’s time, and ignored Clint in proportion. Clint had to resort to threatening him with arrest for harassment and stalking before Tim got the clue that Laura was no longer interested.

“I thought we agreed we wouldn’t mention that idiot again, but yes. He was enough proof that bland and boring is not your style. What do you want, Laura my love?”

Laura took a breath and said, “I want him with us tomorrow, no distractions. Mandy gave us an open-ended invite to take the kids for a day and a night, including Nathaniel. I want to use it, since we didn’t use it for our anniversary.”

“Then you’d better call her now,” Clint suggested as he heard the distinctive sound of Steve’s motorcycle pull into the drive. Mandy was one half of the couple who owned the neighboring farm to the south of the Barton’s property, and often served as their babysitter.

Laura nodded and retrieved her phone from its place on the nightstand on her side of the bed. “Tell Steve I’ll be down soon.”

As Laura began her call, Clint headed downstairs. Since it was past their bedtimes, even for a Friday night, Lila and Cooper were already asleep.

The porch light and driveway light were motion-activated, illuminating Steve by the time Clint stepped onto the porch. Steve shut down his motorcycle’s engine, removed his helmet, and crossed the distance between him and Clint with a ground-eating stride.

“Traffic?” Clint asked.

“Not too bad for a holiday weekend, but I’m still here later than I wanted to be,” Steve said, and kissed him.

Clint returned the kiss enthusiastically. He always had a weakness for a slightly disheveled man, sweaty and tired; few people could mask their emotions or reactions in that state. Road-weary Steve had become a hot button for Clint in the months since their first night together. Here was the ‘just a guy from Brooklyn’ Steve claimed to be, not Captain America, not the pressed-and-polished Steve Rogers he had to be for public events. Clint knew those personas were all part of the Steve he had grown to love, but he liked knowing that few others got to see _this_ version of Steve Rogers – the one eager to be with Clint and Laura despite the long distance, the one whose kisses made Clint crave more, who was even now pressing closer, proving he was not unaffected.

Steve broke the kiss reluctantly. “Not that you have close enough neighbors to care….”

Clint chuckled and opened the screen door to allow Steve entrance. As he shut both the screen and storm doors, locking them, Clint told Steve, “Laura will be down shortly; the kids are asleep.”

“Even Nathaniel?” Steve asked, setting his backpack down by the foot of the stairs and removing his boots and jacket. He hung the jacket in the closet by the door. “How is he adjusting to be a day person instead of a night owl?”

“Better than his sister,” Clint said with a smile. “Lila fought us for a year. I don’t think she’ll ever be a morning person.”

Steve smiled; he had heard how many times Clint had to encourage his daughter to leave her bed. Comfortable in the house and certain of his welcome, he helped himself to a drink of water from the kitchen.

Clint followed him. “I know it’s late; did you want to skip the movie we planned to watch and just head upstairs, shower, and cuddle?”

Steve finished his glass and smirked at Clint. “Missed me?” he teased, setting the glass on the side of the sink before moving closer to Clint. “And here I thought you had queued a can’t-miss-this movie.”

“Only if you want to have to rewatch it later,” Laura pointed out, stepping into the kitchen. Steve met her halfway and kissed her hello, lingering over the kiss.

Watching his wife in Steve’s arms only deepened Clint’s love for her. He loved seeing her respond to Steve’s kisses, loved the way Steve bent down to kiss her and support her as he did so, loved the way the two of them looked together. Desire for both stirred more urgently through Clint.

Breathlessly, Laura panted, “We can watch the movie tomorrow. Let’s go upstairs.”

Grinning, Steve followed her upstairs, grabbing his backpack along the way. Clint enjoyed the rear view as he trailed behind them. Once in the master bedroom, he shut the door, certain his wife would lead the show. Laura did not disappoint.

“I want you to fuck me,” Laura told Steve, who had started to undress. “I want Clint in my ass.”

Used to her directions and the way they all talked frankly in the bedroom, Steve smiled, his expression eager. “All right,” he agreed. He finished undressing, dumping his clothes in the desk chair, and put on a condom from the box in the drawer of the nightstand. He put the bottle of the lube and the condom box on the nightstand. Steve then kissed Laura before helping her out of her nightgown, taking the time to explore her body as he did so.

Not wanting to be left out, Clint got naked and put on a condom. He joined in Steve’s slow exploration of Laura’s body, enjoying the way she tried to remain standing. She had forgone underwear, expecting Steve’s arrival, which made Clint realize he should have taken advantage of that earlier.

He pushed that thought aside in favor of taking advantage of it now. He reached down and fingered her cunt as she and Steve kissed, open-mouthed and full of tongue. Laura moaned at Clint’s knowing strokes, and he increased his tempo, wanting her to come on his hand. It did not take long before she cried out, “Please, love, lick me!”

Clint dropped to his knees, trusting Steve to hold Laura up. Clint nibbled her mons and sucked on her clit before diving his tongue into her center, tasting her wetness. He used his fingers to fuck her as he sucked on her clit, using his knowledge of what she liked as she moaned his name in response. He focused on bringing Laura to a shuddering, liquid orgasm, relishing the fact she still responded to his touch even after so many years together.

Steve said, “I’ve got you, Laura; you can just let go.”

Laura cried out, a tone that told Clint she was close. He intensified his efforts, loving the way she shuddered, panted, and narrated her pleasure until her climax hit. He licked her one final time and rose to his feet. Deliberately, he met Steve’s eyes and leaned over Laura to kiss him.

Steve licked the taste of Laura off him. His gaze was heated when he finished, and he moved to lie on the bed. Laura mounted his cock as soon as he was settled; moaning as she did so. Clint reached for the lube and prepared Laura’s asshole. He thought about letting Steve suck on him but quickly discarded the idea. The smell of sex, the way Laura was riding Steve as if she could not get enough of his cock, the taste of his wife and his lover, all combined to make Clint harder than he remembered being.

Laura moaned and Steve’s breath hitched as Clint warned them both, “Hold steady.” He inserted his cock into Laura’s ass. “Breathe, love, that’s it, I’m in your ass and Steve’s in your cunt. You got us both. You like that, being between us?”

“Uh huh,” Laura panted, nodding. “Fuck me.”

Clint and Steve soon worked out a pattern to do just that. Clint knew he would not last long, given the way Laura’s ass felt around him. He could feel Steve’s cock through the thin membrane that separated them; heard his grunts as he tried to hold off his orgasm so Laura could come again.

“So good,” Laura cried. “Steve! Clint! Uh, uh, so good, love – you – both!” Laura shuddered through her climax, triggering Clint’s. Clint groaned through his; a second later, Steve followed suit.

For a moment, no one moved. Reluctantly, Clint pulled out, careful to hold the condom in place. He leaned over, kissed Laura, then Steve. As Clint dealt with his condom, he saw Laura carefully lift herself up and help Steve trash the condom he had used. That task done, Laura curled into Steve’s right side.

Clint bracketed her. “Love you,” he told Laura.

She looked over her shoulder, her eyes dancing as she raised her chin so she could kiss him. “Love you too. Do whatever you want without me; I’m going to lie here and enjoy the show. Maybe help a little.”

Steve and Clint shared a grin. Both men knew Laura would masturbate if they gave her a good enough show, which would result in one of them fucking her while the other was fucked.

“What do you want, Steve?” Clint asked. It would take several minutes before he was hard again, but Steve’s refractory period was shorter than his.

“Want you to suck me so I can fuck you,” Steve said.

Clint breathed out at the image Steve’s words created. He reached for two condoms, put one on himself, and put the other on Steve’s cock, stroking it and lean into kiss Steve as he did so.

Steve met his kiss. Clint knew the other man lingered more the second time around, which Clint appreciated since it allowed him time to recover. He returned the kiss for several heated moments before breaking it to move downward. Steve moaned as Clint tongued his left nipple and used his fingers to tease the right one into hardness, then whimpered when Clint switched nipples.

Clint kept moving downward until he reached his destination. Steve moaned again when Clint put his mouth on Steve’s cock. Enjoying the way other man reacted, Clint took his time in sucking Steve to full hardness. He felt Steve jerk, then whimper. Clint glanced up to see Laura playing with Steve’s nipples, mimicking what Clint had done earlier.

“You like that, don’t you, Steve?” Laura asked huskily. “You love it when one of us plays with your tits.”

“Yes,” Steve stuttered, his tone showing how turned on he was. “Oh, sweetheart, yes, please, again.”

Laura bent her head to fill his request as Clint focused his attention on taking more of Steve’s cock into his mouth. Steve trembled and moaned at the dual attention.

Clint had all of Steve’s cock in his mouth when he felt a wet finger on his asshole. From the size of the finger, and the fact Steve laid flat beneath him, Clint deduced it was Laura. He shifted his weight to his knees, spread his stance, and let Laura prepare him for Steve’s cock. Her slender fingers were not enough to stretch him for Steve’s size. Clint felt her pause, then he felt the familiar shape and feel of a lubed dildo as she slowly inserted it into his ass. The knowledge Laura was fucking him with a toy added a thrill. He whimpered around Steve’s cock at the insistent pressure of the toy.

“I know, not the same as Steve,” Laura said, “but you take it so well, love. Gonna use it to spread you open so you can just slide onto his cock like I did.”

Clint whimpered again and tried to meet her thrusts even as he tried to focus on sucking Steve. He could feel himself opening with every thrust of the dildo; Laura also stroked his balls as she used the toy on him. Moaning, he soon gave up. As if that was his cue, Steve shifted position, sliding down under him until they were face to face. Clint had a moment to adjust between when Laura pulled out the dildo and when Steve slid into his ass. The change made Clint moan, and Steve thrust up into him.

Clint met Steve’s thrusts, kissing him as they began the age-old dance. Clint loved the feel of Steve’s cock in his ass, the way Steve held him as they fucked. Beside them, Laura was watching, love and passion’s heat in her gaze.

“He feel good around you, Steve?” Laura asked.

“Yes,” Steve answered, and shifted his thrust slightly. Clint moaned as the shift caused Steve to hit his prostrate.

Hearing him, Steve repeated the maneuver, biting his lips as he did so, a clear sign he was close to coming.

Seeing it tripped Clint’s trigger; nothing was sexier. “Yes, oh God Steve love yes,” Clint panted as he climaxed.

Steve shuddered and cried out wordlessly as he followed Clint over that cliff.

Clint kissed Steve slowly, wordlessly thanking him for the pleasure. As one, they looked over to Laura. Laura smiled like a cat who had gotten the cream.

“That was gorgeous,” she told them. “And motivating, and I want you both, but I looked at the clock.”

“Aw, clock no,” Clint griped.

She sent him a rueful smile. “Sorry. My spirit is willing,” she told them, “but either Clint or I have to get up tomorrow at 7 and get the kids up. Our neighbor is taking the kids, including Nathaniel, to the zoo with her kids. Mandy will have them until Sunday.”

Mindful of their position, Clint kissed her as Steve said, “I should shower anyway.”

He kissed her, then Clint, before he and Clint separated. Steve rose to use the bathroom, grabbing underwear from his backpack as he went.

Clint disposed of the condom he had used and cuddled his wife, who rolled into him. “Love you,” he told Laura.

“Love you too,” she said, leaning up to kiss him. “You should turn out the light.” She yawned.

Chuckling, Clint hugged her close before rising to switch the lighting from the overhead fixture to the lamp on the nightstand on what had become Steve’s side of the bed. Steve took one of his military-fast showers, and Clint made a note to see if Steve would let him be his bath attendant again.

Laura was asleep by the time Steve crawled into bed next to Clint. He kissed Clint’s shoulder, turned off the light, and curled an arm around Clint.

“Did you plan the zoo trip just because I’m here?” Steve asked quietly.

“And if I said yes?” Clint shifted so he was facing Steve, even if his night vision had yet to adjust.

“I don’t know if I should be happy your kids won’t be around or sad I won’t see them,” Steve admitted. “Or what I should say if Cooper asks me what we’re doing.”

“‘Grownup things’ always works,” Clint told him. “And that mixed feeling – I’m with you. Laura wanted time with you and me that would not get interrupted by the kids, and that’s something we haven’t had.”

“That makes me feel better,” Steve said, reassured. “Good night, Clint.” He kissed Clint before allowing him to shift back so he could hold Laura, and therefore in a position for Steve to hold him. Neither Clint or Laura noticed that Steve did not immediately fall asleep, but laid awake for several hours afterward, wondering if he had heard Laura correctly, wondering if he dared ask for confirmation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Steve accept what he's heard? Will the perfect weekend end without drama? Stay tuned....


	7. Chapter 7

The sound of an SUV pulling into the drive the next morning woke Steve, who had not expected to fall asleep. His jerk of surprise jarred Clint, who sat up in a reflexive protest.

“I heard a vehicle pull in,” Steve told him.

“Fuck, that’s Mandy.”

Clint turned and gently shook Laura. “We overslept,” he told her when she protested sleepily. “Mandy’s here.” A horn sounded, emphasizing his words.

“Damn it,” Laura swore, getting out of bed. Hurriedly, she put on a bra, underwear, leggings, and a button-down knit tunic as Clint grabbed jeans, a t-shirt, and dressed. “You get Lila. Steve, would you wake Cooper? I need to get Nathaniel.”

Steve pushed aside his surprise at being drafted into service and got dressed, taking his cue from his lovers. He put his phone, which he previously set on the nightstand, in the pocket of his jeans. “Do I need to get him packed?”

“No, we did that last night while we were waiting for you,” Clint said. “If Cooper doesn’t wake, it’s okay to carry him downstairs.”

“Got it.” He stepped out of the room, hesitated, and returned to kiss Laura and Clint. Just because doubts were swirling through his head was no reason to stop kissing them, especially if Mandy was clueless about their polyamory. “In case I won’t be able to do that for a little while,” he explained, and hurried out of the room.

Behind him, Laura pointed out, “Mandy will wait for us.”

“Not for long,” Clint countered, but Steve noticed they did not leave the master bedroom for a few minutes after that. He smiled as he imagined they were kissing and trying to keep it from escalating to something more, given Mandy’s presence.

Steve was about to knock on Cooper’s room when his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He glanced at it and saw it was from Maria Hill, who was acting as the Avengers’ liaison and mission controller.

 _Darcy Lewis will be your date for the upcoming holiday charity event season. Please meet her Tues.,_ _11:30 AM, Tower Restaurant, to discuss addressing questions re: your relationship._

Steve swore. He had met Darcy when he had gone down to the Tower’s science floor to talk to Bruce. She had introduced herself as ‘professional science wrangler and Jane Foster’s former intern,’ then impressed Steve with the way she shot down all of Bruce’s excuses for why he failed to send her receipts for an expense report. He liked Darcy, thought she was pretty, competent, tenacious, and someone who had a wicked sense of humor. Steve felt zero attraction for her, though in another time and place, when he wasn’t already in love with two people, he could see where she might have pinged his interest. He had exchanged friendly conversations with her, nothing more than a few conversations in common spaces whenever their paths crossed. Maria must have assumed their acquaintance counted for something, since she had warned him that whoever he chose as his escort would become a target for the press. A huge part of him hoped Clint would take the role, since Clint had already been through the circuit as an Avenger. No one would look at him twice.

Pushing aside the annoyance, Steve entered Cooper’s room after a perfunctory knock. He turned on the light to find Cooper with half of his comforter on the floor. Cooper did not stir when Steve put a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. “Cooper, wake up,” Steve said, using the same tone of voice he remembered Clint using.

“’S’not a school day,” Cooper slurred.

“It’s zoo day with Mandy,” Steve countered.

He found his arms suddenly full of excited boy. “Steve! We’re going to the zoo!”

“Get dressed; Mandy’s waiting. You need any help?” Steve asked.

“No, I’m a big boy,” Cooper asserted, hopping out of Steve’s arms. “Dad said you would help him with grownup stuff instead of coming with us.”

“That’s right,” Steve said, seeing Cooper go to his closet and pull out clothing.

“You don’t like the zoo?”

“I like the zoo, but I promised your mom and dad I’d help them,” Steve replied. “I keep my promises.”

“Oh.” Cooper considered this. “That’s okay then. Dad says you have to keep your promises or tell people why you can’t keep them and be honest as much as you can.”

“Your dad’s a smart man,” Steve agreed. “I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

“Okay, Steve.”

Steve stepped out in the hallway and shut the door behind him as memories of being that age flashed through him, which made him remember Bucky and the anchor point he had been as they had grown up together. For a moment, Steve wondered what Bucky would think of his involvement with Clint and Laura. Would he say anything? The man Steve had known before the war had changed them both would have said Steve needed a keeper and a lover: someone to keep him out of trouble and someone to love him for it. That had meant Bucky and Peggy – one his best friend, the other his best girl. Now, Steve would not settle for something so delineated, not when Clint and Laura were showing him how he could have both.

Yet even as he thought that, Steve remembered nothing lasted forever. All he could hold onto was the moment in which he lived. If that meant he got to spend a kid-free day with Laura and Clint, he would seize it, and trust that what he had heard Laura say last night was nothing more than a momentary exclamation made in the heat of passion. It was not worth mentioning, just as it was not worth mentioning he had fallen in love with both Laura and Clint. They would eventually tire of him needing to drive from so far away to see them and move on to someone else, or something Captain-America-worthy would cause him to need to stop seeing them.

Cooper burst out of his room, breaking Steve’s introspection, a small backpack in hand as he ran over to his sister’s room. “Come on, Sis, you’re gonna be late!” he called, and clamored down the stairs.

Clint stepped out of the room, carrying Lila in his arms. She wore a pair of shorts and a purple t-shirt. Seeing Steve, Clint rued, “She fell asleep again. Would you see if Laura needs a hand?”

Before Steve could step down the hall, Laura stepped out of the hall, Nathaniel in a car carrier. Clint gestured for her to lead the procession down the stairs. Steve hesitated, realized Cooper and Lila would mention him, and followed Clint.

Cooper had already opened the storm and screen doors to let in their visitor. Mandy was a tall, muscular, solidly built, middle-aged black woman with gray in her wavy hair. She wore a teal green Carhartt t-shirt, jeans, and knee-high work boots. Her oval-shaped face was bisected by a misshapen nose. She radiated confidence and warmth as she smiled.

Cooper was already hugging her, which raised Steve’s estimation of her. 

Laura set down the car carrier with Nathaniel and, once Cooper stepped out of the way, hugged her. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Mandy said.

Laura made the introductions. “Mandy, this is Steve Rogers; Steve, this is Mandy DeGeorge, our neighbor.”

Mandy’s brown eyes widened in recognition. “As in the Captain America Steve Rogers?” she asked, extending her hand to shake.

“Only when I’m in uniform,” Steve stated, shaking her hand.

Mandy chuckled. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you, given this character here is an Avenger,” she jerked a thumb towards Clint, who feigned innocence. “Pleased to meet you. I’m a third-generation horse breeder, but I was an interpreter in Iraq.”

“And neither of us can confirm or deny that was how we met,” Clint chimed in, grinning. “She’s the one who knew this property was for sale. We’ve been friends for —”

“— too damn long, don’t make me count how many years,” Mandy finished, rolling her eyes. “Cooper, would you go open the SUV and help your dad get your sister in?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cooper said, and held the screen door open so Clint could pass through.

To Laura, Mandy said, “I’ll bring the kids back at 5 tomorrow. That work for you?”

“That’s more than I asked,” Laura stammered, surprised.

“You have a special guest,” Mandy said, winking at Steve. “This way, they’ll be worn out and you can just put them to bed.” She nodded at Steve, picked up Nathaniel’s carrier and the bag Laura handed her, and exited.

Clint came in a few minutes later and locked the doors behind him. “Anyone want breakfast or should we head back to bed?”

“I vote for bed,” Laura said. “I haven’t slept in in ages.”

“Not sure I can sleep now I’m up, but I’m always up for snuggling you,” Steve replied.

“Sounds like a plan,” Clint agreed, and the three of them headed back to bed. Laura fell asleep as soon as she was in the middle of both men; Clint soon followed. Steve closed his eyes, but the thoughts swirling through his head would not let rest follow.

He had expected to share the weekend with the Barton children; it seemed part of being with Clint and Laura. While Steve was fine with having an extended time without interruption, he wondered what it signified. Was this just a last hurrah before they told him their relationship with him was over? He assumed Clint would not do that without telling him, but he was not so certain about Laura. Steve was convinced she was having sex with him because Clint had wanted her to and was continuing to do so because she liked it. Steve could have been any other anonymous man and Laura would treat him the same. She rarely asked him about his work and stopped asking him about his art once she learned he would not send her anything racy. Steve figured discussing movies he had not yet seen would be enough for them to have a point of conversation besides Clint and the kids, but he suspected Laura would be bored of that topic soon enough. He enjoyed having sex with Laura enough he blamed himself for wanting more. His heart had always fallen for the wrong people anyway and Laura was just one more, so it did not matter if she only wanted him for his dick.

Steve figured Clint cared about him but not any less or more than he had when they had not introduced sex into their relationship. Beyond teasing him and flirting with him more openly, Clint did not treat Steve much different than when they had been friends. Steve would not be surprised to learn he was merely another tool in Clint’s arsenal to keep Laura happy and assured that Clint would not cheat on her. Steve did not mind being used that way; he had learned a few things about his refractory period and what he enjoyed doing sexually. If he wanted more or cherished the way Clint made sure he never felt like he had to apologize for his body’s reactions, then that was Steve’s fault for not being satisfied with what he had.

It only meant the time he could spend with Clint and Laura would soon count down, and if this time-without-the-kids was the beginning, then Steve should be grateful and not wish for more. Being greedy had solved his laundry list of ailments, but he had traded that frail body for a life of war and heartbreak. Laura and Clint would undoubtedly be two more in the heartbreak column.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax, not wanting to disturb Laura or Clint.

Two hours later, Steve gave up, extricated himself from Laura’s embrace, and left the bed. He stood on the threshold of the door when Clint asked quietly, “Something wrong?”

“Hungry,” Steve admitted. It was a white lie, but he hoped Clint would buy it. “Go back to sleep; I’ll help myself.”

He headed downstairs and made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A full pot of coffee sat, warming, on the coffee machine’s burner, so he added coffee to his breakfast. He took a seat at the table in the kitchen and ate methodically, not tasting the sandwich or the coffee, making sure he finished everything and cleaned up his mess.

He felt someone behind him and turned to find Clint standing an arm’s length away, arms crossed, looking as though he had figured out something and did not like the conclusion he had drawn. “You don’t seem thrilled at the prospect of a whole day with just us, Steve,” Clint stated. “Something about that bothering you?”

Steve froze. He had forgotten just how observant Clint could be. _Sniper, you idiot_ , he told himself. “No,” he forced himself to say. “I thought you would save that for you and Laura for something special.”

Clint eyed him warily. “And you being here doesn’t count?”

Steve met his gaze. He did not want to ruin the day with the thoughts running through his head, so he said what he figured Clint wanted to hear. “Well, considering I’ve been coming down here every weekend, no. But I’ll take it.” He stepped closer. “Starting now.” He kissed Clint and stroked his cock through the thin sleep pants he wore.

Clint tried to say something, but Steve did not want to talk. If all he got was this one perfect day, then he would take advantage and fill his fantasies so he would have a mental scrapbook for the cold, lonely days ahead. Steve dropped to his knees, pulled Clint’s cock out, and sucked it, not caring about condoms.

“Ah, God, Steve, we gotta stop,” Clint said breathlessly. He pushed back on Steve’s forehead.

Reluctantly, Steve paused and looked up at Clint. “Why? I’m clean, can’t catch anything.”

Clint urged Steve to stand. “Because that’s not how we have that conversation, and Laura needs to be a part of it.”

Steve mentally winced and changed his strategy. “Sorry.” He kissed Clint apologetically before stepping back. “In that case, better if we keep things the way they are. My luck, I’d get us all excited and we find out the hard way I’m not sterile like I’ve been told.”

Clint smiled ruefully. “Yeah, that’s partly why I stopped. Other reason is I don’t want to break a promise I made to Laura.”

“What did you want to do instead?”

“Coffee first,” Clint said, tucking his cock back into his pants. “Then breakfast. Wash your hands and grab the eggs for me, will you? I promised Laura I’d make muffins for breakfast and I figure between the two of us, we can’t fuck up a boxed muffin mix.”

“Probably not, but let’s read the directions first,” Steve suggested.

Chuckling, Clint agreed, “Yeah, that always helps.”

After a breakfast of cranberry orange muffins, scrambled eggs, and bacon, during which the conversation centered on which movie they would watch first, Steve figured he had blown his chances for anything sexual for the morning. Steve chided himself for forgetting Clint had told him Laura was not on hormonal birth control since she had problems in the past finding one that worked for her. Instead, he focused on the action-adventure movie, which Clint had warned him had to be viewed knowing that in real life, the hero would have to be superhuman. He lost himself in the simple joy of having Laura and Clint beside him, commenting on the movie, mocking some of the dialogue, and helping him when a line of dialogue made little sense.

He had not counted on Laura’s ambitions or Clint’s willingness to fulfill them. The rest of the time without the kids in the house passed in a haze of sex in every way Laura and Clint could imagine with him, punctuated by half-finished movies, and breaks for naps, food, and drink.

The following afternoon, Steve slept through the kids’ return, worn out at last. His phone buzzing on the nightstand woke him, and he looked at it, seeing the text message from Darcy Lewis.

_Hey, I realize it sucks you can’t just have anyone as your date, but I promise I’m not a horrible date. You doing anything? I’m stuck in the Tower since I forgot it’s Labor Day weekend._

Steve sat up and texted back, _Do you have Wanda’s number? She and Vision have no one to visit._

 _I do,_ came the reply, confirming Steve’s hunch that Darcy was more than just a science wrangler. Her next words only solidified it. _Maria Hill hired me to be the operations assistant to the Avengers, so I have to be able to get a hold of all of you if there’s an emergency._

 _I thought you were a science wrangler,_ Steve typed.

_My joke, since all of you are independent people, and up until recently, I could count on JARVIS to remind Bruce and Tony to eat and sleep. I also handle all the social media and mail._

Steve was not sure what to say to that, but it looked from the way she was typing that she did not expect a response.

_Where are you? Wanda wouldn’t tell me. Not on a mission, I hope._

_No,_ Steve replied.  _Visiting friends. I’ll tell you Tuesday._ He put the phone down, hearing footsteps approaching the room. Steve decided then he would consider this weekend his last weekend with the Bartons. It would be easier to run the holiday charity gala gauntlet if he did not have to also balance seeing them.

Laura stepped inside the room and he met her halfway, kissing her urgently. Whatever she had in mind to ask him, Steve made sure she forgot. He was intent on having the memory of her naked underneath him, writhing in passion, crying out his name, telling him she loved him, etched in his mind. He wanted to remember that when Darcy asked him if he had anyone. He wanted to linger even as he felt the creeping sense he was running out of time. It made him a little rougher than he normally would be.

“Hungry for me?” Laura panted as he slid into her cunt.

“Yes,” Steve told her, kissing her messily.

“Yes, oh God, Steve, yes,” Laura encouraged him, her hips rising to meet his hard thrusts. “Fuck me hard, yes, love, like that.”

When they both shuddered through their climaxes and lay on the bed in a tired heap, Laura looked at him wryly.

“Well, I had intended to ask you if you were hungry, but I guess you answered that question. Did you wake up dreaming of us?”

“Yes.” Steve did not want to get into why he needed her.

Laura laughed and rose out of bed. “If you’re hungry for food, I saved you some pulled pork.”

“Sounds delicious.”

After dinner, Steve returned to the master bedroom. Laura was getting Nathaniel to bed; Clint was indulging Cooper and Lila by showing him his skills with his bow in the barn. Steve put a few condoms and the tube of lube in his pocket, then headed to the barn.

He watched for a moment, awed as always at the way Clint shot arrows. He was performing trick shots, such as splitting arrows and shooting rapid fire, delighting Cooper and Lila. Clint wore his arm guard and wrist guards, but was not dressed in his full uniform, so he was an enticing mix of civilian and uniform that sent desire shooting through Steve.

Steve sent Cooper and Lila back to the house, aware of the closeness of their bedtimes, and then locked the barn door.

“Something you want?” Clint challenged Steve as he set down his bow, unstrapped his quiver, and set both down on the nearby table.

“Yes,” Steve said. “You, like this, and I get to finish what I started yesterday morning, only with condoms this time.”

Clint’s eyebrows rose. “Here?” he asked. “Or are you imagining it back in some locker room where we’re changing into our uniforms before going off to save the world? Because I have.” He met Steve’s kiss halfway and Steve knew he could not control this encounter the way he had earlier with Laura. Steve did not care. Clint was fire and heat. All Steve wanted was to taste his cock and feel the reinforced, high-tech leather-like material of the archer’s guards brush against his face when Clint held his head so he could fuck Steve’s mouth.

Steve protested when Clint stopped him several minutes later. “Want to be inside you,” Clint told him.

Steve handed his lover the bottle of lube. Steve then shoved down his jeans, letting them pool around his ankles. He had gone commando, and he saw Clint’s smile of appreciation before he turned around and braced himself against the wall.

Though he was already loose from their sex earlier in the day, Steve appreciated Clint took the time to lube him again.

“Love doing this to you,” Clint told him as he pushed back against his fingers. “Never gonna get enough.”

Steve closed his eyes at the love and lust he heard in the other man’s voice. “Want you,” he pleaded.

Clint dropped the lube to the table and thrust his cock into Steve’s asshole. Steve’s breath caught, and he forced himself to breathe and meet the thrust. He wanted Clint to come hard, but it soon became clear Clint wanted him to do precisely that. Clint reached for Steve’s cock and stroked him as he thrust, making Steve white out in pleasure. He was coming hard, trembling with the force of his release.

“Love you like this,” Clint said, and thrust again over Steve’s prostate.

“Clint!”

“Love you,” Clint said as he thrust twice more and then climaxed.

Steve tucked that declaration into a corner of his heart and told himself it was nothing more than words in the heat of passion, nothing worth believing in beyond the moment. He waited a beat to allow Clint to disengage and deal with the condom, before rising to stand. He kissed Clint, hoping for more.

“I’ll meet you upstairs,” Clint said, smiling as he stepped back. “Need to lock this stuff up.”

Steve nodded, dealt with the condom he had used by tossing in the trashcan Clint had set up in the corner of the barn, and put on his jeans. He did not notice the speculative look Clint sent him as he exited the barn.


	8. Chapter 8

As a sniper whose specialty was a medieval weapon, Clint prided himself on not only surprising people with his talent but picking up on things other people missed. He was used to people underestimating him, including Steve before he had proven his worth. Clint knew exactly what he was: an ex-carnie turned commando turned Avenger, who had gotten a GED by the skin of his teeth and who almost no one expected to be smart, observant, articulate, or steadfast. That said, he hated what he was seeing. Something was going through his lover’s head. Clint had heard from his wife about how Steve had seduced her earlier, so he had expected Steve to approach him in the barn. Steve was not a man to complain. In bed, he had been willing to let Laura or Clint take the lead for most of their encounters. Laura had mentioned to Clint that Steve had been slightly rough with her as if he was in a hurry. Clint knew he had done that to Laura enough times, usually in the context of him leaving for his next mission, that Laura did not mind the less-than-gentle sex as long as it remained occasional.

From texting Natasha, Clint knew the Avengers were not scheduled to go on any missions. That left something Steve personally chosen to do or a mission he had been selected to perform. The latter was completely unlikely, since SHIELD was no more, and the DOD would not pick Captain America for any black ops operations since he was both too recognizable and too well known to deviate from any previously agreed-upon plans.

That left one conclusion: Steve had no, or expected not to have, time left to give Clint and Laura. Clint was willing to wait until he had further evidence, but he got it sooner than he expected. The following day, as soon as Lila and Cooper had run out to play in the yard, Steve had pounced, clearly not interested in watching TV.

Clint waited until Steve was packing up his things to leave. Laura was napping on the couch, worn out by the intense session of sex they had shared. As much as he had enjoyed it, Clint had been studying Steve’s reactions, and seen the same desperation he had picked up on the day prior.

Steve looked surprised to see him in the master bedroom. “Thought you were tired.”

“Not so tired I haven’t noted you not talking,” Clint replied, lounging against the desk as he observed Steve roll the clothes he had worn, using the bed as his flat surface.

That made Steve’s hands pause. “About what?” He finished rolling a t-shirt and stuffed it into the main compartment of the backpack.

“About what you are or aren’t getting from us.”

“What does that matter? I’m just the guy in your bed now. Next month, next year, be someone else.” He shrugged.

Clint swore and moved closer. “Not fucking likely. I can’t imagine anyone else.” He narrowed his gaze. “For another, I love you.”

Steve stared at him, open-mouthed and looking poleaxed.

Clint lifted his chin. “Yeah, I know. Not what you expected. What, you assume I’m not capable of loving more than one person?”

“No.”

“Or were you with us to get your rocks off and love wasn’t an option?”

“No,” Steve growled.

“Then what?” Clint demanded.

“I don’t know!” Steve exploded, dropping the shirt he had been rolling. “The last time I was in love with two people, one of them didn’t want me like that and the other,” he took a deep breath and tried to find calm, “the other stopped waiting for me because she assumed I was dead.” He stared at Clint; his hands underscored his words as he declared, “Do you think I have any idea what to do when it happens again?”

“No,” Clint said.

Steve blinked at that. “No?”

Clint shook his head and pulled him into an embrace. “You are one of the most fearless men in combat I have ever met. You’re strong, decisive, and you make some of the craziest, gutsiest, balls-to-the-wall plans I have ever had the pleasure to help execute. But when it’s anything other than that? I can see the guy from Brooklyn who’s had to learn damn near everything all over again, twice—once when you got the super-soldier serum, and again when you woke up in this century.” Clint kissed him. “I love you, Steve. I’m not giving you or Laura up, so get that idea out of your head. Come talk to me or to Laura when you start feeling like all of this—” he gestured vaguely to the two of them “—is something you need to pull away from, because I would rather you tell me than make me guess.”

Steve shuddered as he exhaled slowly. “I love you too, but I—” He looked at Clint. “I don’t want to give you up.”

“Who the fuck is asking?” Clint demanded. “Because they’re idiots.”

“No one, but holiday event season is coming up,” Steve summarized.

Clint grimaced, remembering previous years. “Who do they want you to claim as your date?”

“Darcy Lewis. Can’t it be you?”

“Not all the time,” Clint said, shaking his head. “Maybe once or twice. Captain America is not gay or bisexual, remember? Unless you want to cause a scene by coming out of the closet?” At Steve’s frown, Clint offered, “Darcy is a good friend. If you haven’t met her, I think you’ll like her.”

“I have met her, but I don’t know her that well, and the only woman I want to kiss is your wife.”

Clint kissed him. “Laura and I won’t mind if you kiss Darcy or use her as your official girlfriend.”

“Does she know you have a wife?” Steve asked, peeved at the notion he had to have an official girlfriend.

“Yeah,” Clint said. “She overheard a conversation I had with Laura and said the only men who called their significant others ‘boss’ were married.” He looked at Steve wryly. “She took my denial as confirmation, and that was three years ago. That said, until a few months ago when you were all here, Darcy had no actual confirmation, and she has never seen a photo of Laura or the kids and she doesn’t know where this farm is.” Clint shrugged. “Thor told her I was married. He said she tricked him into telling her; he apologized, and I said she had assumed as much for years. I’m not worried she’d tell anyone; she is loyal to the people she considers friends.”

“You trust her,” Steve summarized.

Clint nodded.

“How did you meet her?”

Clint chuckled. “When Thor arrived in New Mexico, I was an agent assigned to guard Mjolnir. Later, after we figured out he had been with Jane, Darcy, and Eric, I guarded them while the other SHIELD agents searched their equipment. Darcy impressed Coulson; he sent me to deliver her a music player to replace the one taken from her.” He studied Steve a moment, seeing doubt creep into his expression. “She’s become a friend. What’s going through your head now, love?”

“That this can’t be real,” Steve murmured. “I’m living a dream and any moment I’ll wake up.”

“No dream,” Clint assured him. “And in case you’re wondering: Laura loves you too. That was not just her talking sex talk.”

Steve closed his eyes briefly. “You’re making it hard to leave,” he told Clint ruefully. “And I have to meet with Darcy tomorrow.”

“If you want to tell her you’re my guy, that’s fine.”

“And if she asks about Laura?” Steve looked at him worriedly.

“Do you remember hearing about what happened in London last year?”

Steve nodded. “I’m still not sure I understand it all, but I heard something about Thor was responsible for making sure it wasn’t worse than it was.”

“Ask Darcy about it,” Clint advised. “She thought for sure SHIELD would be there to help. I was in the back end of nowhere and didn’t see her increasingly panicked messages until after it was over.” Clint met Steve’s gaze. “She helped save the world by finding Eric Selvig, getting him out of a psychiatric hospital, and then by helping place all those portal markers, and nobody knows her name.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“She told me, ‘Interns don’t get credit for shit; why start now?’” Clint chuckled, amused. “But before you leave: I love you. If you want to be with her more than with us, please tell us?”

“I can’t imagine wanting that,” Steve replied, “no matter how amazing Darcy might be. I love you. For however long we can make this last.”

Clint kissed him lovingly. “As long as we talk, that can be a long time.” Hearing footsteps behind him, he glanced over to see Laura in the doorway.

“This a private conversation or can anyone join?” Laura asked.

Steve looked at her. “Do you love me?”

Laura stepped closer before stopping an arm’s length away. “Yes. Are you okay with that?”

Steve closed the distance. “Hell yes,” he told her, kissing her. “Love you, Laura. Wanted to tell you both I love you for a while now. Didn’t think you wanted to hear that, especially since you don’t ask me about my work.”

“Only because we’ve had people want only sex from us,” Laura said, “or only wanted one of us and not the other, so I’m a little wary. Plus, I figured you were operating under the same rules Clint used to — as in, you couldn’t tell me much anyway without breaking operational security.”

“There are things I can talk about that don’t fall into that,” Steve told her. “For example, I can tell you we did training and who I trained with, but I can’t tell you what we trained on or why. If there’s something you want to know, ask me.”

“Same rules but he has more latitude than I did,” Clint clarified. “Because he’s in charge and I’m technically on the reserve roster, right?”

Steve nodded. “Retired but available in an extreme emergency, since we don’t have anyone with your skillset.”

“What happens if you call him in?” Laura asked anxiously.

Clint looked at Steve, who answered, “We’ll probably kiss each other and go to work. I did it before with Peggy; I’m used to compartmentalizing stuff like that.”

“I’ll probably have a rougher time,” Clint said honestly. “But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, and I’m not going to worry about it too much before then.”

“Agreed. I’ll be here whenever I can,” Steve told Laura, glancing over his shoulder to include Clint in the conversation. “And as much as you can stand to have me around.” He took a deep breath and stepped back. “And if I kiss you — either of you — any more in the next fifteen minutes, I will not make it back home tonight.”

Clint chuckled. “We’ll behave, won’t we, Laura?” he asked his wife, moving so he could slip an arm around her back.

She made a face. “I suppose. Since you asked.”

At his look of indignation, she kissed him. Then she turned to Steve. “Aren’t you the leader of the Avengers?”

“Yes,” Steve said, not sure where she was going with her inquiry.

“That means you could, theoretically, be extremely late,” Laura said, slipping out of Clint’s embrace to step closer to Steve.

Reading the heat and intention in her eyes, Steve swallowed hard and licked his suddenly dry lips. “I could,” he agreed, his hands rising to bring her closer. “But I like being on time.”

“Mm hm, but that’s Captain America time. You’re in our house, and that means you’re still on you, Clint, and me time.”

Steve looked at Clint, hoping the other man would rescue him.

Clint grinned wickedly and shook his head. “She’s right, you know. You haven’t left… yet. What did you want, Laura love?”

Laura leaned up and kissed Steve. “I want to help Clint get you off. Then when you’re recovering from that, I want you to suck Clint until he’s hard, so he can fuck you again while you fuck me,” she purred, “and that way, we can tell and show you just how very much we love you. And then if we’re still as hungry as you were earlier, we do it all over again, until you’re almost too sore to ride home. Because I want you to remember you are loved, Steve, and you’ll always have a home with us here.”

“You up for that?” Clint asked. “Or did you want to save that for next weekend?”

“Next weekend is too far away,” Steve said. “I love you both. Work can wait a little while longer.”

The first fingers of dawn were stealing across the sky when Steve finally pulled into the Training Facility’s parking garage, but he could not wipe off the smile on his face. He loved, and he was loved in return by two people who gave him friendship and sex, without having to choose between one or the other. Since Darcy knew Clint, having her as his girlfriend-for-publicity-only would not be dreadful, because she might be amiable to helping them both. Steve was looking forward to finding out.

_The End 4/18/18_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided not to go all the way to Civil War in this, because it makes me very sad, but instead leave it in a happy place.
> 
> I love to hear from my readers. Kudos are love; comments make my ~~day~~ week, and I respond to all them - even when the fic is "old". Thanks in advance!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, constructive criticism, kudos, suggestions for what happens next: all are welcome, regardless of the age of the fic.
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Posting is random. I rarely finish anything I start, so please subscribe!~~


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